I Need Your Heart
by BookwormJC
Summary: Even though her stepbrothers are in love with her, Ema can only think of them as family. One day, while walking home from school, she meets this guy, and eventually befriends him. Eventually, this turns into something else. How will her stepbrothers react upon learning about him and how can one guy change Ema's life forever?
1. First Chapter: Love Interests

**Author's Note**

**Hello! Anyways, I've been watching the anime for a while now and I've also read some of the novel summaries. Anyways, a while back, this plot bunny came into my head and had decided to stay there. Therefore, it has been stuck with me ever since. As a result, I just had to write it.**

**Anyways, "I Need Your Heart" is the first book of the "I Need Your..." series. There will be two more books after this.**

**Lastly, I just want to apologize in advance for any errors that made it past my check-up, whether it is about what happens in Brothers Conflict or if it's just a spelling/grammar error. I also apologize if any of the characters are OOC. I tried to make them in character, although if there are parts where any of the characters are out of character, please forgive me. There may also be parts where a character's personality changes over time or due to the events that happen in here.**

**So, that's pretty much all that I want to mention at this point. I hope you enjoy the story!**

* * *

**I Need Your Heart**

**First Chapter: Love Interests**

Ever since she moved into her new stepbrothers' house, life for Ema Hinata had never been the same as it was before. Before, she, as her father's only child, was always lonely, as her father was going out on adventures. Now, with all the attention from her thirteen brothers, she no longer felt alone and has someone to turn to.

However, the attention her brother's have given her was no ordinary attention. That's because they were all in love with her. It started with the eleventh son, Yusuke, who was in love with her even before his mom and her dad married. Then, one by one, they all started to feel the same way. Even the youngest, at ten years old, was in love with his older sister.

Throughout the time they've been together, there had been many moments, from awkward moments between her and some of the brothers, as well as times where the brothers made moves on her. For example, one time, Tsubaki, the fifth son, pushed Ema down on the couch and kissed her forcibly. Of course, she was flattered by all the love they've given her. However...

...she really only sees them as family.

Sure, there were some moments where she was interested in one of them, but then, she would remember that they are siblings, and that they could never be together. As a result, she couldn't really fall deeply in love with any of them. She didn't know how to break the news to them, as all their love for the same girl caused a lot of conflict within the family.

However, her life changed drastically when she met just a single person one sunny afternoon.

* * *

After a bright and sunny day in Kichijouji, the sun was beginning to set. As Ukyo, the second son who was a lawyer, had to prepare for a trial, he asked Ema to prepare dinner for the other siblings that were there. As she cooked, her pet squirrel, who never liked the idea of her moving in with the brothers, came into view.

"Chi!" he squeaked. "How dare he make you do this! Couldn't he have made it himself?"

"It can't be helped, Juli," she explained quietly. "Ukyo-san has a lot of work, so he asked me to help."

"Still! At this rate they would think of you more as a housewife instead of their stepsister!" he continued.

"Well..."

"Nee-san, hurry up! I'm starving!" Fuuto, the twelfth son, complained as he walked into the kitchen. "You should at least give me a little something to eat!"

"Sorry..." she quietly apologized as she gave him a bit of food. However, Juli quickly came to the bowl and spat into the food in anger.

"Hey!" Fuuto screamed at the squirrel. Ema noticing what her pet did, bowed apologetically while Fuuto walked towards Ema and grabbed her cheek with his hand and held it so that she would face him.

"Consider this payback for what your pet did..." he smirked playfully before planting his lips on hers. Ema just stood there, unable to do anything but blush, while Juli could only watch in horror. "You look pretty cute when you blush, nee-san..."

"Chi!" The squirrel tried to find something to say that would get Fuuto's lips off of hers. "The food!" All of a sudden, Ema pulled away and continued cooking, while Fuuto just walked away from the kitchen.

"Too bad... You just have to look forward to next time..." he told her smoothly and flirtatiously, as Ema's cheeks became flushed with a pinkish hue.

After Juli made sure that he was gone, he began to speak again. "See what I mean? Be careful around those wolves!"

"I know, I know..." she smiled before turning her back to work on the food.

An hour passed before Ema finally finished cooking. She then began to plate the food as the others began to meeting in the dining room. As they ate, she noticed that nobody talked to each other at the dining table. This caused an awkward, yet tense feeling to fill the room. Trying to break the silence, Ema decided to speak.

"So... how's the food?" she asked, hoping that the tension will just subside.

"It's super tasty!" Tsubaki was the first to reply, as he put his arm around Ema, pulling her closer. "You know, you are great wife material! You should marry me! How about it?" he exclaimed playfully, causing even more tension to build up.

"Tsuba-nii!" Yusuke yelled as the other brothers glared at Tsubaki angrily. Ema could feel this tension grow again and started to become uncomfortable.

"Tsubaki, that's enough!" Azusa yelled as he suddenly stood up and firmly slammed his hands on the table. "Don't do that to her!"

"Jealous?" he smiled at Azusa as he said in a teasing voice. "I'm not handing her to anyone, so get that delusion out of your head," he suddenly turned serious as a whole bunch of people continue to eye Tsubaki.

"Hey!" Yusuke screamed at Tsubaki. "You're one to talk! How can we do that when your arm is around Hinata-kun?"

"Why don't you just..."

"Okay, that's enough," Masaomi suddenly stood up and walked towards Tsubaki. He then took a lollipop from his lab coat and shoved it into an annoyed Tsubaki's mouth, while pulling Tsubaki's arm off Ema. "Let's not fight, okay?"

Then, one by one, everyone left the table until only Ema was left. She looked down, while tears were pooling in her eyes. She knew that they would fight like this over her, but she noticed that it was like this almost every day. She wished that she could tell them that she couldn't love them as a lover, but she couldn't bring herself to, as she knew that they might not understand.

As she wiped her tears away, she suddenly heard her phone ring. Taking it out of her pocket, she looked at the name of the caller, which was displayed on the screen. Seeing it was from her best friend, Mahoko, she answered it.

"Hello?" Ema said, sounding downcast.

"Hi, Hina!"

As she talked into the phone, they started to make small talk. While talking, she noticed that she was beginning to feel better, as the tears that were pooling in her eyes disappeared. Then, after a while, Mahoko began to speak.

"Hina, about your brothers... How do you feel about them?" Mahoko asked Ema, concerned about her best friend, since she could tell from her voice that she was feeling down during the conversation. "Are they treating you well?"

"Of course," Ema reassured, not to trouble her best friend.

After a brief pause, Mahoko suddenly spoke into her phone. "Hey, Hina... Are you in love with any of your brothers?" Ema could sense the concern in her voice, while starting to become uncomfortable. However, as she was her best friend, she decided to talk to her about it.

As she took a deep breath, she spoke into her cell phone. "To tell you the truth, well..."

"Well..."

"How do I put it? Well, I'm glad that they like me, but I just can't like them that way..." Ema explained, while Mahoko listened to her. Once she was done speaking, Mahoko quietly chuckled from the other side. "What's so funny?" Ema asked.

After a short pause, Mahoko exclaimed, "So that's it! You just see them as siblings!" Ema was glad to hear that her friend understood how she felt until Mahoko began to speak again. "If that's the case, how about I match you up with someone?"

As she took a while to process that her friend said, she could only mutter, "Huh?"

"It's obvious that the only thing you could do in this case is to see someone else!" Mahoko explained. "If that happens, they would finally get the message and everything will be alright! What do you say?"

"I can't..." Ema said to her apologetically.

"What? How come?"

"Well, if I do end up liking someone, I want it to come naturally..." she explained. "You see, if I am matched up with someone, I'm not sure if it would last. I think I should choose when it comes to these things..." Even though she was grateful that her friend was quick to help, she still declined.

"I see..." Mahoko sighed. "Well, see you at school tomorrow!"

"You too..." Ema ended the conversation before walking to her bedroom, glad that she was able to talk about how she feels about her brothers to someone.

"_I wonder if my special someone will come...If so, how will I break it to them? I mustn't be harsh..."_

As soon as she reached her room, she pondered a bit more. The more she thought about it, the more she thought about how her brothers will feel. Would they be hurt or would they support her? As she thought about, she felt herself drifting off to sleep.

* * *

After school, the next day, Ema was walking home with Mahoko. Usually, she would walk back with Yusuke, but since he had supplementary classes to do, Ema opted to walk home with Mahoko for the time being. Remembering the conversation she had with her, Ema decided to try not to bring it up as she didn't want to risk Mahoko's endless talking on who she'd be perfect with. However...

"Hina?" Mahoko suddenly asked, smirking a bit. "Are you sure you don't want me to match you with someone?"

...Mahoko brought it up. Hoping her friend wouldn't get over-excited, Ema just muttered. "Seriously... Please don't..."

"How come?" she whined, almost as if she was a little kid. "There are many people who are a great match for you! Look at our class, for example!"

"Mahoko..."

"You'd be great with Sasakura-kun! I can see it! You'd look like such a great couple!" Mahoko exclaimed loudly. "Or wait... If you do decide to aim for one of your brothers, how about Yusuke? You already do look like a couple, so why not be one?"

"But..." she quietly said, unaware of what's to come.

"Hina! Watch out!"

"What?"

That's when it hit her. While she was walking, she just walked straight towards a guy. However, when she finally took note of her surroundings, she realized that she was on the ground. She then looked up to see his hand in front of her, offering to take her back up on her feet.

While she looked up, she noticed his smiling face. She noticed how refreshing it looked and how kind he seemed to be. As the wind blew, she noticed his smooth, brown hair fly to the side and his large, dark brown eyes that glistened as she looked at them . That's when she started to be somewhat mesmerized by him. She never felt like this with anybody, much less her brothers.

"Hina..."

That's when she went back to Earth. Realizing that she was still on the ground, she then grabbed his hand, as he pulled her back on her feet.

"Thank you..." she quickly bowed towards him in appreciation.

"It's nothing," he said in a deep, yet princely voice.

As she continued to stare at him, she noticed that he was wearing a familiar school uniform, the same one which Iori, the tenth son, wore.

"You attend Bright Centair?" she asked.

"I do!" he smiled. "How did you know?"

"My older brother goes to that school!" she told him excitedly, wanting to talk to him more.

As they began to talk, Ema began to lose track of time, as she had a good time talking with him. During the conversation, she began to have this weird feeling within her chest. She noticed it, but tried to put it aside as talking with him was actually quite fun.

"Hina, we have to go..." Mahoko told her rather impatiently, causing the other to realize how much time she spent talking with him.

"I guess I lost track of time..." she giggled. "I have to go now."

"That's fine!" he told her. "I had a lot of fun."

"By the way, what's your name?" she asked curiously. "I don't think we've introduced ourselves yet."

"You're right!"

She then walked towards him and bowed. "Hello! I'm Ema Hinata! Nice to meet you!"

"Likewise!" he told her whole-heartedly. "My name is Fuyuki Shiraishi!" he said politely, bowing towards her. As he bowed however, their heads bumped into each other. Realizing what had happened, they both had a good laugh.

"Well, then... I'm off!" he waved goodbye. "See ya!"

"You too!" she happily said back. "I hope we meet again!"

As Ema waved goodbye to him, Mahoko went to her side and nudged her, causing the former to turn towards her friend.

"What was that about, huh?" Mahoko said playfully, her eyes rolling towards the other. "Do you have a crush on him already? You just met, for crying out loud!"

"Mahoko..." she said to her, slightly embarrassed. "If you word it like that..." This practically confirmed Mahoko's suspicions. As she said that, Mahoko suddenly interrupted.

"Wait a minute! Hina! Are you serious?" she was shocked indeed. She didn't think Ema would fall in love with someone so easily. It was even more surprising that it was someone she just met. "Are you taking a liking to him already?"

After a brief pause, she said shyly, "Well, I guess so... I never had this feeling with my brothers before..."

"I guess you found the one, huh?" Mahoko playfully interjected, causing Ema to have somewhat of an epiphany.

After a deep breath, she smiled and began to speak again. "Well... I guess you're right!" Ema said rather excitedly, albeit quietly. "Is this what it's like to have a crush?"

"Don't ask me!" Mahoko replied. "You're the one in love!" As one could tell, she was really happy for her friend.

As they laughed, they continued to walk back home. Later on, while they were having dinner, everyone noticed how happy she was, but they decided not to do anything about it, as it made them glad to see their stepsister with a happy face on. What would happen if they found out that she fell in love at first sight? How would that go?

A few hours later, while she was lying in bed, she reminisced on what happened earlier that day. She couldn't believe she already took a liking to someone. Of course, this was one day to remember, but she would never know how this one day could change her life in the long run...

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Me: I hope I didn't make Ema too OOC in this chapter... Anyways, I see that you met Fuyuki, my OC.**

**Fuyuki: It's nice to meet you. *bows politely***

**Me: Even though he's my OC, he actually has some relation to a minor character in the novels. Will I tell you? Nope, but you can guess.**

**Tsubaki: Hey you! Don't think you can steal her away from us! *goes at Fuyuki while Azusa holds him back***

**Me: So, which brother will she end up with in the end? Well, there will be a poll to decide that.**

**Brothers: A poll?**

**Me: After this story is posted, a poll will be on my profile momentarily. It is to decide who will battle it out for Ema's love? The top 5 will be chosen, okay? Voting ends as soon as the last chapter of "I Need Your Heart" is posted.  
**

**Wataru: I see! Then vote for me so that I can be with onee-chan! *jumps excitedly* **

**Me: That's pretty much it for now! Remember to go on my profile and vote and I'll try to update as soon as I can. Bye bye!**


	2. Second Chapter: Meetings

**I Need Your Heart**

**Second Chapter: Meetings**

It has been one day since she met Fuyuki. Both Ema and her friend were trying to get home through the rain. Even though it was sunny when they got to the school, it rained all of a sudden. As a result, they had to hold their book bags above their head as they ran as fast as they can.

"Hina!" Mahoko complained. "Why did it have to rain? Now I'm soaking wet!" She was huffing and puffing from the constant running as the rain continued to make her clothes wet.

"There's nothing we can do about it now..." Ema reassured, knowing that it can't be helped.

"I just hope someone will lend us their umbrella!" the other whined, wanting that to actually happen.

"Hinata-san!"

All of a sudden, Ema stopped running, noticing something... or rather someone call her. After a while, Mahoko realized that Ema was no longer following her, so she turned around to see where she went, only to smile that the sight in her eyes.

There she was, talking to a guy, none other than Fuyuki Shiraishi, Ema's newfound crush. He was holding an umbrella in his hand and held it over Ema, letting the rain to fall on him, instead. As they began to talk to each other, it seemed that they were having a good time. Looking at what was in front of her, she only chuckled, noticing how cute they looked.

"Seriously, Hina..." she said quietly to herself. "I'll support you!"

She then quickly waved goodbye, even if she wasn't going to see it. Meanwhile, Ema was still having a lively conversation with Fuyuki.

"What a coincidence!" Fuyuki laughed. "I didn't think we would meet again in the same day!"

"I know!" Ema smiled. "Were you walking home too?" It seemed like an obvious question, but she tried to find something to continue the conversation.

"Actually, I was going to the library to do some extra studying!" he explained. "Our school's really big on preparing for college entrance exams, so I have to study for it..."

"I see..."

Suddenly, he took of a hold of her hand, causing her to blush a bit. "C'mon! Let's go together!" He then began to run towards the library, not giving time for Ema to answer. She didn't mind though, because that meant that she could spend some time together with him.

As they ran together, the sun finally shone as the rain subsided. As a rainbow appeared, she gaped in awe, while Fuyuki just smiled at her.

After spending a bit of time at the library, the pair finally decided that they should go home. As they left, they were surprised, as the sun was beginning to set. They didn't think that they would spend that much time there. As they walked home together, they exchanged phone numbers and talked to each other.

As soon as they reached the front of Sunrise Residences, the place where Ema lived, they said their goodbyes as she walked into the house. Clutching her fist in front of her heart, she couldn't help but smile.

"Onee-chan!" Wataru ran towards the entrance. "I'm hungry! Can you make dinner?" This caused her to realize that she was supposed to make dinner for everyone, making her panic as she had to buy ingredients for dinner. She then tried to think of what to do.

"Wataru-chan..." she asked, almost in a motherly voice. "Is anybody else home?"

"Nope! I'm the only one here!"

"Well then, let's just eat out!" she suggested. "Is that fine with you?"

"Yay!" he ran around. "We're going to a restaurant!"

As soon as they left, she took a piece of paper from one of her notebooks and left a note at the door, telling the others that she was eating out with Wataru. This was the beginning of Ema's after school routine.

* * *

For the next month or two, she would usually run into Fuyuki on the way home. There, Mahoko would leave the two alone, while they go to the library to study. Afterwards, she would usually arrive home late, so she would either have to treat everyone else or she would just make a small dinner. That was the daily routine.

Then, one day, while washing the dishes. She was approached by Masaomi, the eldest brother.

"Imouto-chan," he said politely. "Do you think we can have a talk?"

"Of course, Masaomi-san," she told him as she walked towards the living room with him.

As soon as they sat down, Masaomi cleared his throat before speaking.

"Imouto-chan, I've heard that you've been arriving home later than usual," he went straight to the point. "Is something the matter?" Ema could tell that there was a lot of concern in his voice, and became touched.

"No, there's nothing," she smiled. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I just thought that..."

"Nee-san," Fuuto heard the conversation from upstairs and walked into the room, interrupting them. "What's this about arriving home late?"

"Well..."

"Are you seeing someone?" he asked her questioningly, wanting an answer from her while Ema was starting to become uncomfortable. After all, the reason why Ema was always late for school was to see Fuyuki.

"W-what makes you think that..."

Ema was starting to get nervous, knowing that if anybody found out about Fuyuki, there will be a lot of conflicts and he would get dragged into it. All of a sudden, Fuuto grabbed Ema and pulled her closer to him.

"What am I saying!" he laughed jokingly. "Why would any guy want to be with you, nee-san?" Ema suddenly gave a sigh of relief, even though he was insulting her. However, he suddenly pulled her into an embrace and whispered quietly into her ear, "Besides, you're mine and only mine..." in a smooth and a somewhat threatening voice, bringing chills down her spine.

After he broke the hug, Fuuto just went back upstairs while Ema decided to continue washing the dishes. However, after just a few minutes, the landline phone in the kitchen began to ring. Even though Ema wanted to answer it, she was too preoccupied the dishes to pick it up. Then, she noticed Tsubaki walking into the kitchen.

"Tsubaki-san, can you answer the phone?" Ema politely asked her older brother.

"Sure!" he said rather excitedly, only to be put off by the voice from the other end.

"Hello? Hinata-san?" Tsubaki cringed as he heard a male's voice. "Is that you?"

When she noticed how Tsubaki cringed, she already had an idea on who was on the other end.

"Imouto-chan... It's for you..." Tsubaki was really annoyed, already seeing the one on the other end as a threat. Ema then asked Tsubaki to put it on speaker phone, so she can work at the same time, but that meant that Tsubaki could hear the conversation loud and clear.

"Shiraishi-kun!" she suddenly smiled, while Tsubaki looked at her with jealousy. Seeing her smile while talking to a guy outside their family was basically torture for the usually enthusiastic voice actor, but he still listened attentively.

While they were talking, he continued to see her pretty smile as she spoke. Even though he loved seeing her happy, it still pained him to see that at the moment.

"Hinata-san?" Fuyuki said quite nervously. "I have a question..." This was when Tsubaki started to pay more attention.

"What is it?"

"W-well... How do I put this?" She could tell that he was nervous and so did Tsubaki.

"_Is he going to do what I think he's going to do?"_ Tsubaki thought after listening to this conversation. As he listened, he suddenly felt the anger take over his mind.

"Would you... like to..." he continued his sentence, while Tsubaki was starting to get angrier by the word. "Well..."

"It's okay, you can tell me," Ema reassured her nervous friend.

"Would you like to go on a date with me this Sunday?" he had a sudden and nervous outburst. After hearing this, all Ema did was blush. Assuming that he made everything awkward, Fuyuki suddenly and awkwardly continued the sentence. "A-As friends! As friends!" If one couldn't tell already, Tsubaki was so annoyed at this point.

"Of course!" Ema smiled whole-heartedly as Fuyuki gave a sigh of relief. "This Sunday, right?"

"Right..." he said as he laughed his nervousness away. "Anyways, see ya then!"

"You too!"

"_The nerve of that guy..." _Tsubaki grumbled as he clenched his fist. If one couldn't tell, as soon as he fell in love with her, he started to become possessive.

That's when she turned off the phone and started to walk out of the kitchen and towards her room. Before she was able to, though, she felt a sudden tug from her arm. Turning around, she noticed Tsubaki, who had an annoyed look.

"W-Were you listening?" Ema stuttered, knowing what could potentially happen if they knew that she was hanging out with Fuyuki. As he nodded his head, she became nervous.

"Imouto-chan?" Tsubaki asked. "Who was that guy? Is he your boyfriend?" Beads of sweat started to drip down Ema's head, since she was afraid that a conflict will start.

"No..." she said with uncertainty in her voice. "He's only a good friend!" He could see the blush on her cheeks and suspected that she had a crush on him.

He then walked passed her, clenching his fists as he looked towards the ground. Then, he quietly, yet firmly said, "I hope that's all it is..." Afterwards, he walked up the stairs while a tense feeling started to grow.

Watching him walk away, she only sighed. Sure, she was super excited for this date, but after seeing the response of one of her brothers, she began to wonder what would happen if they all found out. Would they stop her or would they just leave her alone? Only time would tell... One thing's for sure, though. There's nothing that would stop her from having a good time... unless her brothers decide to interfere.

"What am I going to do with them?" she sighed as that thought flew into her head. After a brief pause, she proceeded to go to her room to prepare for what was going to happen the next day.

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Me: First off, I would like to thank everyone for supporting me as I write this story! *bows politely* I'm trying to post as many chapters as I can before school starts!**

**Wataru: So how's the poll going?**

**Me: It's going well, but I'm not going to say any details...**

**Juli: Hey, you! If one of them has to be with Chi, at least let it be him! *points at Louis***

**Louis: Well... if you agree with him... then... why don't you vote for me? *smiles at everyone***

**Me: Anyways, thanks for following with me and remember to vote! The poll's on my profile page and voting ends as soon as I post the last chapter. Bye bye!**


	3. Third Chapter: Day Out

**I Need Your Heart**

**Third Chapter: Day Out**

At the sun was starting to rise, Ema was already awake, trying to figure out what she was going to wear. This was because she was going on a date with her crush, Fuyuki. As she excitedly rummaged through her closet, Juli jumped on her shoulder and looked at what she was doing.

"Chi," he squeaked. "Why are you so excited? Is there something going on?"

"I'm going to hang out with someone," she replied excitedly as she looked through her closet.

"Who?" he asked his owner. "Is it Mahoko-san?" He was getting really curious while Ema started to blush at the thought of being with her crush.

"You haven't met him yet..."

"What!" Juli screamed after hearing that she was going with a guy. "There's going to be another wolf entering the battle?" As one would expect, Juli was not happy about this development.

"Now now, Juli..." she reassured. "He's a nice guy..."

"But..."

"Ah... I found it!" as she pulled out an outfit from her closet and showed it to Juli. "Should I wear this?" Juli could tell that she was excited for the date, even though it was with some wolf he never met.

"Chi..." he asked, curious about what was happening. "Why are you so excited?"

"Well..." she trailed off, finding it awkward to tell her pet about these things. "...the reason why... is because I kind of... you know... like him..." Of course, he wasn't happy hearing that his owner was in love with a guy he never met, but yet again, seeing how she was happy, he couldn't bring himself to complain.

She then started to change into her outfit while Juli thought of something that would make Ema happy. Then, all of a sudden, he ran out the door while Ema was still changing. As soon as she finished changing, she looked into the mirror, only to be be disappointed in how she looked.

"What am I going to do about this?" she asked herself as she ran her fingers through her hair. She wasn't really happy about how it looked. As she tried to think of something, she heard a knock on the door, so she walked towards the door and opened it.

"I heard that you were going on a date today... so I thought that I should fix your hair..." Louis, the eight son, smiled, while Juli gave her a thumbs-up.

Seeing that he was an experienced hairdresser, she let him into her room. As she believed that he was one of the brothers that seemed to think of her as family. She wasn't that worried about a fight breaking out because of him.

As soon as he was done, she thanked him, while he got up and left the room. Meanwhile, she looked at her phone to see that there were a lot of texts from Fuyuki. This, of course, reminded her that she was running late. Panicking, she raced out of her room.

However, as she was putting on her shoes, she felt someone embrace her from behind. Wondering who it was, she turned around to see that it was none other than Kaname, the flirty third son who happens to be a monk.

"Imouto-chan..." he said flirtatiously in a deep and smooth voice. "Why do you look so cute today? Could it be because... you're trying to turn me on?" As he said that, Ema tried to back away, but he suddenly grabbed her thin body and pulled her closer to him. "If you want, why don't you come to my room and I will..."

"I can't..." she successfully pulled herself away from him with all her might. Normally, she would just let it happen, but ever since she fell in love with Fuyuki, she became more aware of her brothers' actions and grew to dislike it.

"Aww..." he faked a disappointed voice. "So why are you all dressed up? Could it be that you're going on a date?" At this point, Ema knew what was going to happen.

"A date!" Almost every single brother ran towards the door and gathered around Ema. They were, a she would expect, shocked by this. As they asked their questions, Ema was starting to get overwhelmed by the slew of questions they asked.

"Onee-chan?" a certain ten-year old brother asked. "Is it true?" As she looked at the boy, she couldn't bring herself to tell them, as she didn't want to hurt her brothers' feelings. That and that they might also try to sabotage their date, as she'd imagine.

"Well..."

"It's true..." Tsubaki stepped in. Ema started to tense up as she knew that he overheard her conversation on the phone. Trying to find something to do, she became overjoyed when she felt a vibration on her phone. As she looked at the text that appeared on her screen, she decided what she was going to do.

"Oh! I'm late!" she said as she started putting her shoes on. Before they were able to ask her questions, she blasted out the door. Even though it pained her to leave her beloved brothers behind, she knew that this date was an opportunity to be with her crush, and that it may never come again.

As she ran out of the property, she noticed that Fuyuki was waiting outside that gate. She then ran up to him and bowed.

"I'm sorry I'm late!" she apologized.

"Don't worry about it!" He held his hand in front of him, offering it to her. "Let's go, okay?"

"Yes..." she grabbed his hand, blushing a bit. However, unbeknownst to them, a whole bunch of eyes were after the couple.

"I can't believe that guy!" one of the brothers looked at the couple with jealousy.

"He should pay for this..." another one added.

"Let's follow them!" someone suggested, while the others agreed. That's when they started to follow them on their date.

* * *

During the date, the pair decided to go to the amusement park. As they had fun, the people who were following them weren't. They've seen the two do many things that angered them, such as holding hands, laughing together, going on rides together, as well as a whole bunch of things. Of course, they were jealous and wanted to be in Fuyuki's place. Even though some of them want to sabotage their date, they couldn't bring themselves to, since they loved seeing Ema with a happy face. As a result, they decided to only watch them.

As the sun began to set, the two were about to leave the park to do something else. As they walked towards the exit, they had yet another conversation.

"Did you have fun?" Fuyuki asked, wondering if he didn't trouble Ema by asking her to go with him.

"Of course!" she smiled, causing Fuyuki to blush a little. She was really happy that nothing happened to them on the date. However, she couldn't get this feeling that her brothers were following her. "Shiraishi-kun? Do you feel as if we're being stalked?"

"Now that you mention it, I do have this feeling that someone's following us..."

All of a sudden, there was an ear-piercing shriek from the middle of the crowd. "Daddy! There's a bunch of stalkers over there... a lot of them!" That's when their mystery was solved.

"Wait! We're not..." a certain red-haired "stalker" tried to explain.

"Let's go! We don't want her to see us, right?" another told his younger brother. At this point, Ema knew exactly who they were.

"_I knew it..." _she thought as she sighed.

"Seriously, Asahina-kun..." she heard a familiar voice. She turned around to find out that the person was none other than her best friend, Mahoko. Standing beside her is their classmate, Kazuma Sasakura.

"Mahoko..." she asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Well..." she exclaimed enthusiastically. "I heard about your date, so I wanted to witness this first hand! You two look like such a cute couple!"

"...and I was dragged along..." Sasakura explained as he laughed a bit. "I hope you don't mind us..."

"No, not at all!" Fuyuki smiled whole-heartedly. "In fact, do you want to join us? We're thinking of going to a karaoke box or something..."

"Hina, is that fine with you?"

"It's fine..." she reassured her friend. "If Shiraishi-kun is fine with it, then so am I..." Even though she wanted to spend some time alone with Fuyuki, she really couldn't say no, since she felt that it would be selfish.

"Then let's go!" Mahoko grabbed her best friend's hand and ran towards the exit, while the boys followed.

When they arrived at the karaoke box, they went to the room and plopped themselves on the couch. While the others rested, Fuyuki started to select a song, while Ema hid herself be talking to Mahoko. The reason why was not because she didn't want to sing, but because she didn't think she'd sound good.

"I'm going to sing now!" Fuyuki smiled while the others cheered. While Ema wasn't confident in her voice, it seemed that Fuyuki really wanted to. As the music started to play, he belted out the lyrics. As he sang, the others were amazed at how great it sounded.

"You sound great! Keep it up!" Sasakura cheered.

"He sounds like an idol, don't you think?" Mahoko asked Ema while she nodded her head in agreement.

"He does!" Ema told her, listening to her crush as he started to finish the last chorus. As he was about to finish the song, the others cheered for him. Then, when he finally finished the song, the others clapped loudly.

"Shiraishi-kun!" Mahoko pointed out. "Your voice is amazing! You sound just like a professional!"

"Really?" Fuyuki laughed, flattered by her compliment, even though he thought that he could've done better. Ever since he was a child, he was really interested in singing. Eventually, he started to take this hobby seriously.

"She's right!" Ema added. "You should consider becoming an idol!" After hearing his voice, she actually thought that he was about the same as Fuuto in terms of ability.

"Well, I actually am planning on being one..." he told her, while Ema listened to him attentively. "I'm actually planning on going to this school called Westwood Performing Arts Academy in America as soon as I graduate. Hopefully, I would be discovered there."

As he talked about his dream, Ema simply told him to do his best and that she supports his goals. As a result, Fuyuki smiled at her in return.

Then, suddenly, he tossed her the microphone, causing her to be a bit surprised.

"What's this for?" Ema asked Fuyuki, who was smiling at her.

"You should sing!" Fuyuki suggested, while the others cheered. As her face became red, both because of embarrassment and nervousness, the others pressured her to sing.

"I can't..."

"Sure you can!" Mahoko interrupted her, curious on what she would sound like.

"But..."

"C'mon, you should at least try!" Fuyuki smiled. As she looked at his smile, she started to blush. Gazing at his refreshing smile and his supportive eyes, she couldn't help but give in. As she selected the song, the others cheered.

Then, when the music started, she began to sing. As she belted out the lyrics, the others gaped in awe. Contrary to what she thought she sounded like, she actually sounded really good.

"She sounds like an angel, doesn't she?" Mahoko interjected excitedly.

"Yes, indeed!" Sasakura nodded his head in agreement.

As Fuyuki grinned happily, Ema became really embarrassed, yet flattered at the same time. As she was about to finish the song, the others began to chant. Then, as she finished, she gave herself a deep breath. Then, suddenly, she heard the others clap for her.

"Why are you clapping?" she asked them. "I sounded terrible, didn't I?"

"Not at all!" Sasakura disagreed.

"He's right!" Mahoko added.

"But..."

"You sound amazing!" Fuyuki reassured the girl, who started to hide her face in embarrassment. "Just like an idol!"

"I don't think so..."

"Nonsense!" he told her. "I have an idea! How about we go to that school together! What do you say?" He really wanted to go to that school with her, while Ema wasn't confident enough.

"I'm really happy you offered, but I really don't think I'm good enough..." Ema looked down in disappointment. She wanted to be with him, even if it's a world away, but, of course, she didn't think she was that great of a singer.

As this conversation lasted until the middle of the night, the others still tried to encourage her to go, or at least, make her believe that she's really good at singing; about as good as a professional, if not better. However, when the time came, they decided to walk back home. While Mahoko and Sasakura left the other two behind, Ema and Fuyuki walked the other way.

"I had a lot of fun today!" Ema said to Fuyuki as he smiled at her.

"Really? Thank goodness..." he sighed in relief. "I thought that you were bored the entire time..."

"Of course not!" she reassured him. "I'm glad we got to hang out!"

As they walked through the streets, they had a lively conversation. Both of them had happy looks on their faces as they talked. While they were talking, Ema reminisced on how fun the date was. However, even though their date was over, there was still more to come...

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Me: Hello! I'm back! Anyways, during the singing scene, it shows that Ema is a good singer. However, I'm not sure if she's actually good at singing in the anime/novels so I just assumed that she was. Please forgive me if I'm wrong!**

**Fuuto: Why is there such a scene in the first place? **

******Me: Well, think of it as a bit of a hint on what's to come in the next book of the series. It's supposed to tie into that a bit.**

**Fuuto: But isn't one singer enough already? **

**Fuyuki: What's that supposed to mean!**

**Fuuto: Well, no offense, but you sound like a dying dog... *smirks at Fuyuki while Fuyuki glares at him angrily***

**Ema: That's not true at all, Fuuto-kun! *tries to stop them from fighting before it gets worse***

**Tsubaki: *jumps in* Anyways, why don't you vote for me? *winks at audience***

**Azusa: Or... *refreshingly smiles at audience* ...please vote for me instead! **

**Tsubaki: Azusa... don't think you can...**

**Natsume: Now, now, you guys... Don't do things that would make her uncomfortable... *stares at audience* You should vote for me, okay?**

**Me: So, I apologize for this rather long author's note. *bows* Here's a reminder that the poll's on the profile, so if you haven't already, try voting. Every vote counts! Voting closes as soon as I post the last chapter, which could be anytime... Bye bye!**


	4. Fourth Chapter: Discussion

**Warning: This chapter contains spoilers for the novel and possibly the anime, if they decide to adapt a certain chapter from the novel****.**

* * *

**I Need Your Heart**

**Fourth Chapter: Discussion**

As they were walking home, both Fuyuki and Ema were talking together about a lot of things. Earlier that day, both of them were on a date. At that moment, though, the sun was starting to set, so they decided to leave the karaoke box they were originally at. However, instead of going straight home, they went to a nearby park so that they could talk to each other more.

At the park, the cherry blossoms were starting to fall into the river. Because there were a lot of people there, they decided to take a rest. Leaning against the railing, they watched the sunset together.

"It's beautiful!" she gaped in awe. Looking at the river, she could see little cherry blossom leaves floating on the river's surface.

She then turned towards Fuyuki, who was also looking at the river. However, instead of his refreshing smiling face, she only saw a face filled with sorrow and pain. As she looked at him, she wondered if she did anything that would make him look like this. Then, he noticed her looking at him with worried eyes, so he just faked a smile.

Then, all of a sudden, she had a flashback. She remembered what happened a while back. That time, she went flower viewing with some of her brothers. This made her happy, because she has a lot of brothers that care for her. Then, she wondered if Fuyuki had any siblings. As the curiosity started to fill her head, she tapped Fuyuki's shoulder, causing him to turn around and face her.

"Shiraishi-kun?" she asked. "Do you have any siblings?" As she asked that, she noticed that his face became even sadder. However, realizing that she might feel bad, Fuyuki smiled, hoping that it would reassure her.

"Well," he had a fake smile, while Ema looked at him worriedly. "There is Aiko-onee-san. She's the eldest daughter of our family. Aiko-onee-san is 25 years old, I think..." As he explained, Ema knew that he was leaving someone out. "Right now, she's in university. She's studying to be a pediatrician!"

After hearing that last sentence, she found something in common with her and a certain older brother. Using this as an opportunity to liven up the atmosphere, she said, "She's a pediatrician? I know someone who's a pediatrician!"

"Really?" he asked with a genuine smile on his face as Ema became relieved. "By the way, while we're on the subject, you have siblings, right?"

"Yeah! In fact, I was talking about my older brother, Masaomi-san!" she said excitedly. "Actually, I have thirteen stepbrothers altogether!"

"Really?"

"I'm serious..." Ema confirmed. "Actually, even though my family name is Hinata, their last name is Asahina!"

"Asahina?" he asked, knowing that the name was familiar. Trying to pinpoint the reason why it seemed familiar, he asked, "Can you name them?"

"Let's see..." she said as she started using her fingers to slowly count down the brothers. "There's Masaomi-san, whom I mentioned earlier... Then there's Wataru-chan, Fuuto-kun, Yusuke-kun, Subaru-san, Natsume-san, Tsubaki-san, Azusa-san, Hikaru-san, Ukyo-san, Louis-san, Kaname-san and... There's one more..."

As she tried to figure out who the last one was, Fuyuki just listened attentively. Even though all she was doing was listing family members, it did have some importance to him.

"Iori-san!" she figured out the last one. Upon hearing this, Fuyuki became both shocked and sad. Wondering what she did wrong, she walked up to him.

"Shiraishi-san, is there something wrong?" she was worried for her friend. "If I said something that I shouldn't, please forgive me!'

"No," he reassured. "You didn't do anything wrong..."

"But..."

As the wind blew, there was a silence between the two. While Ema stared at her friend's sad face, he was debating whether he should tell her a dark secret he never talked about with anyone. In the end, he cleared his throat for what he was about to explain.

"Hinata-san," he said in a serious tone. "Let me tell you a story..." Fuyuki had a pained look in his eyes, while tears were starting to pool in Ema's eyes. She knew that it would be hard for him to say what he was going to say, but she still want to listen to him, out of respect. As she nodded her head, he took a deep breath.

"Has Iori-nii-san talked to you about a girl named Fuyuka Shiraishi?" At this point, she knew what he was going to talk about. A while back, she remembered hearing a story from Kaname about Iori and his former girlfriend. Nodding her head, he continued the story.

"Fuyuka Shiraishi was my older sister. She was a year older than me..." Tears were beginning to pool from Fuyuki's eyes as well. "When we were little, Ai-onee-san was too busy to play with me, so Fuyuka-nee-san and I used to play with each other as kids."

Then, suddenly, Ema had an epiphany. At that moment, she realized that Iori's former girlfriend was Fuyuki's older sister.

"Fuyuka-nee-san and I grew pretty close. However, when she was in junior high, she met a guy. His name was Iori Asahina..." As tears fell down his cheeks, Ema saw the pained look he had.

"Eventually, I began to look up to Iori-nii-san," he continued. "However, I noticed that Fuyuka-nee-san and I were starting to get more distant from each other." He took another deep breath, hoping to explain his story before he became really emotional.

"One winter day, Fuyuka-nee-san told me that we would hang out after she came back from her high school exams," he explained. "I was really excited... I wanted to rekindle that sibling relationship we had. However..." At this point, Fuyuki was choking on his own tears, wiping his tears away from his eyes. He continued.

"...she never came," he explained bluntly before going in detail. "On that day, I heard that she was waiting in front of Iori-nii-chan's school. As soon as he was finished though... she was struck by a car!"

"I heard that it was an instant death... After Iori-nii-san told me the news, he never came again," he sobbed as he was crying a waterfall. "As soon as he left, so did Fuyuka-nee-chan..."

As he finished explaining, he noticed the tears that were falling out of Ema's eyes. Even though she didn't personally experience this tragedy, she still felt sad for him. She then ran towards him and pulled him into a tight embrace.

"I didn't think..." Ema was choking over her own tears as she tried to frantically wipe them away. "...that you experienced that much pain... I'm sorry!" He then held onto her shoulders in a way where they faced each other.

"Hinata-san..." he said in a serious tone, tears no longer falling from his eyes. "Thank you for listening... I feel as if you're a second Fuyuka..." Ema quietly gasped in shock, wondering if he only thought of her as a sister. However, that thought faded away when she noticed that he kissed her cheek. Eyes wide open; her cheeks became pink as she tightened their embrace with their arms.

Meanwhile, from a distance, a certain brother smirked in amusement as he watched the two embrace each other.

"Well this will be interesting..." he laughed to himself as he looked at Fuyuki and Ema from afar. What would this lead to?

* * *

After their tears dried out, both Fuyuki and Ema decided to walk back home. As the sky was already dark, both of them knew that their respective siblings were worried about them.

"Sorry for bursting out like that..." Fuyuki laughed his sadness away, while Ema simply smiled at him.

"It's fine!" she replied. "I'm glad that you told me! I feel as if we're close to each other!" As she said that, Fuyuki began to blush a bit. Since she noticed that, she wondered if he liked her back. Then, she quickly dismissed the idea, thinking it was preposterous.

As they continued to walk, they both looked at the night stars. As they shone above the world, the pair looked at them, admiring their beauty.

"It's so pretty!" she exclaimed excitedly. "I wonder if I'll see a shooting star!"

"If you do, what will you wish for?" he asked her, causing her to blush a bit. She then quickly turned her back away from him in embarrassment.

"I can't tell you..." she told him with an apologetic tone in her voice.

"C'mon!" he laughed, putting his hand on her shoulder. "You can tell me anything!"

"I'd rather not..." she bowed to him as she walked forward. Noticing her walking away from him, he ran towards her.

"You're so mean..." he faked a disappointed tone, while she started to chuckle. Eventually, he chuckles turned into laughs. Of course, this wasn't a feeling that she would feel with her brothers.

As they laughed with each other, they didn't realize that they reached Fuyuki's house already. Greeting her goodbye, he walked into the house while Ema made her way towards the Sunrise Residence.

Then, all of a sudden, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning around, she gasped in shock as a certain brother smiled at her.

"I wouldn't imagine seeing you in another man's arms!" he smiled. "I'm even more surprised that he wasn't one of them!" As she looked at his mischievous face, she took a step back, slowly inching away from him.

"How did you..."

"I saw you two at the park..." he laughed. "I wouldn't think you'd be that naughty..." Hikaru was chuckling in satisfaction. He was really enjoying this. "Let me walk you home, okay? I want to talk to you about something..."

"Okay..." she said as they started to walk home together. Seeing as Hikaru was dressed in women's clothing, she wasn't afraid of Fuyuki seeing her walk with another man.

"So... what was that about?" Hikaru asked his younger sister, who just looked down awkwardly. "Is he your boyfriend?"

"Not yet..."

"Not yet?" Hikaru laughed. He really enjoyed teasing his siblings, if one couldn't tell already. "What do you mean by that? Do you like him?"

"Well... kind of..." Ema blushed profusely while Hikaru smirked a bit.

"Really..." he said to himself. "I wonder what they'd think if they were here right now... Should I tell them?"

"No! Please don't!" Ema begged her older brother, who just laughed at her in amusement.

"Relax!" he laughed. "I'm not serious, you know... but how about our brothers? What do you think about them?"

As they continued to walk home together, Ema looked down with a sad face. Hikaru noticed, suddenly realizing that what's going on was troubling her greatly.

"Hikaru-san..." she spoke slowly. "I am aware that they are in love with me, but..." She couldn't bring herself to continue, but Hikaru encouraged her to. Seeing as he didn't seem interested in her in that way, she decided to continue.

"...I only see them as family. I know that if I tell them, they would all be sad, so I can't bring myself to tell them..." she explained, trailing off at the same time. "Besides... the person I love is Shiraishi-kun..." After hearing his family name, he suddenly remembered something from the past.

"So... I guess he's _her_ sister..." Hikaru guessed while Ema slightly nodded her head in agreement. Of course, as an older brother, he knew what happened to Iori. Before he could say anything, they were already in front of the mansion.

"Anyways, I have to go now," Ema bowed to her older brother as he smiled back. It wasn't everyday that she was able to talk to Hikaru, since he lived in another house. As she walked into the house, Hikaru just looked at her walking figure until it disappeared.

"Interesting..." he said to himself, grinning a bit. "I wonder what will happen next... As he laughed into the night, he walked back to his house.

A lot of things happened that day. First, a date and then, a time where the pair got to know each other. However, with Hikaru added into the mix, things have changed drastically. Now that one of the brothers found out that she likes someone out of the family, anything can happen. It can be good, but it can also be bad.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Me: So, remember when I said that Fuyuki is related to a minor character in the first chapter's author's notes? Well, now you've found out!**

**Masaomi: So how's the poll going?**

**Me: Honestly, I'm shocked at how it's going so far. Will I tell you why? Nope... (Just so you know, I made it a blind poll to keep the ending a secret)**

**Kaname: Aww... I want to know if I end up with Imouto-chan... If I did, then I can finally... *fakes disappointment***

**Juli: Keep those dirty thoughts out of your head, you pervert monk! *goes at Kaname.**

**Me: Anyways, thanks for all the support! I'll try to update as soon as I can! Bye bye!**


	5. Fifth Chapter: Fate

**I Need Your Heart**

**Fifth Chapter: Fate**

It has been a couple of months since Fuyuki and Ema went on that date. As the sun was beaming high across the sky, everyone continued their daily lives. As it was summer vacation, Ema was lounging in her bedroom, playing video games while her pet squirrel was resting on her bed.

"Onee-chan!" Wataru started banging on her door, instantly grabbing her attention. Opening the door, she stepped back as Wataru ran into her room, clenching the landline phone in her hand. "Onee-chan, it's for you!" he said excitedly as he started pulling on Juli's tail, startling the poor squirrel.

"Hello?" she talked into the phone, wondering who was calling her.

"Ema-san?" the person on the other end asked. That person was none other than Fuyuki, Ema's crush. Ever since the date a while back, they started going on a first-name basis, since they became quite close.

"Fuyuki-kun!" she brightened up. "What's going on?"

"Not much!" Fuyuki replied. "Anyways, can I ask you something?" he asked rather nervously.

"Sure! What is it?"

"Umm..." he stuttered, trying to figure out what to say. "Can we meet up tomorrow? I... have something important to ask you..." Trailing off apprehensively, one should figure out what he was going to ask.

"Of course!" she smiled. Even though she wanted to date him so badly, because she had a rather thick head, she couldn't figure out what he was going ask. In fact, she just thought that he wanted to hang out as friends.

After a while, they said their goodbyes as Ema turned off the phone. As Wataru stared at her, Ema went to her closet to find something to wear for that day.

"Onee-chan?" Wataru asked questioningly. "What happened?" As she smiled at how innocent he sounded, she just walked over to him and patted his head.

"Nothing much..." she told him whole-heartedly, while Wataru continued to look at her suspiciously. Even though he was only ten years old, he knew that something was up with his older sister.

"Who was that guy?" Wataru continued to bombard her with questions. "Is he the person you went on a date with?" Having a nervous smile on her face, she knew that Wataru was quite smart for his age. Trying to figure out what to say, Wataru was starting to get impatient.

"Wataru-chan! Let's play some video games, okay?" she dropped the subject before he was able to figure out that she was in love with Fuyuki. She knew that if he found out, his fragile ten-year old heart will get broken. Grabbing a controller for him, Wataru pouted disappointedly.

* * *

It has been one day since Ema was asked to meet with Fuyuki. As usual, the sun was shining brightly, since it was summer vacation. As she got ready to meet with Fuyuki, the others noticed how odd she was acting.

Even though she was going out to meet with Fuyuki, she didn't really consider it a date, since he had something important to ask her. Wondering what it was, she couldn't get his jittery feeling out of her head. She really wanted to know what he was going to ask her.

As she was acting nervously, the brothers couldn't help but be suspicious. In fact, they've all noticed that her attitude towards them changed. Before, when they made moves on her, she would just let it happen. Now, she would usually inch away from them whenever they did the same thing. They wondered if it had to with that guy she went on a date with.

As Ema was about to make her way out of the door, she began to ponder on what he might ask her. The curiosity was eating up her insides. She just had to know. Because of this curiosity, she ran straight for the door, hoping that she would get to see him sooner.

Suddenly, as she ran, she hit something, or rather, someone. As they both fell to the ground, they didn't realize what happened until they looked at their surroundings. That's when they found out what position they were in.

Yusuke, the person Ema ran into, was lying on the floor, face up and unable to move, while Ema was sitting on top of him, pinning him onto the ground. As he was blushing profusely, with cheeks as red as his hair, Ema finally noticed what was going on. After apologizing to her brother and classmate, she stood up and began to walk out of the door.

"Wait!" Yusuke yelled, still sitting on the floor. "Hinata-kun, you've acted strangely lately! What's going on with you?" Ema stopped in her tracks after hearing what he said. She didn't want them to find out that she was going to meet with Fuyuki, remembering what happened the last time she did that.

"It's nothing..." she smiled, trying to play it off. "You don't have to worry..." As she walked out of the door, Yusuke could only look at his crush strangely. Watching her disappear, another brother walked into his view.

"Ever since the date, she's been acting rather suspiciously, don't you think?" Fuuto smirked sinisterly while Yusuke seemed skeptical, not just because he had been in love with her for a long time.

"Shut up!" Yusuke didn't want to hear it. He was too in love with Ema to listen to him. "What do you know? It's not like you know everything about Hinata-kun!"

"I don't..." he admitted, looking like he's got something planned. "...but we have to get to the bottom of this... and I know someone who might know what's going on..." Fuuto said slyly as he made his way towards the landline while Yusuke could only stand and stare.

* * *

As Ema was walking towards the park, she reminisced on what happened when Fuyuki told her about his sister. She was glad that he told her something personal, since that meant that they were becoming closer, but she couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He went through so much pain in the past and he still decided to tell her.

While pondering on that, she didn't realize that she was in the park already. Looking for Fuyuki, she finally spotted him sitting on a bench. As she looked at him, though, it looked like he was hiding something behind his back, as he was sitting strangely. Walking towards him, she sat on the spot beside him.

"Hello, Fuyuki-kun!" Ema greeted herself while Fuyuki smiled nervously in return. She was curious on what he was hiding behind his back, although she ignored it, as she was more curious on what he was going to ask her. "So... what did you want to ask me?"

As she asked that question, Fuyuki stuttered a bit. As he cheeks started to turn red, what was behind his back fell off the bench. Ema stared at what fell from his back while all the colours drained from Fuyuki's face. It was as if he wanted to die at that moment.

Meanwhile, Ema was just staring at what fell. Behind Fuyuki was a bouquet of colourful flowers, bundled up tightly with pink wrapping, while an envelope was attached to the stem of a red rose.

"Fuyuki..." she blushed, while Fuyuki quickly stood up and held the flowers in his hand. Ema could tell that he had a sad face on. Then, all of a sudden, he stood up and held the bouquet behind his back. As he was blushing, he walked towards Ema.

"Please accept this!" he yelled as he held the bouquet in front of her. As her cheeks started to turn as red as a rose, she carefully accepted the flowers and held them in her hands. She then detached the envelope from the bouquet, while Fuyuki looked away from her, too embarrassed to face her. Carefully tearing it open, she took out the letter and unfolded it. While reading it, her eyes widened.

"_Ema Hinata..._

_Remember the day we met? The day where we bumped into each other? I feel as if fate brought us together..._

_I've loved you ever since that day. So... please accept my feelings and go out with me!_

_Fuyuki Shiraishi..."_

Tears were beginning to fill her eyes. Of course, she was crying tears of joy, now that she knew her feelings weren't unrequited. Noticing the tears in her eyes, Fuyuki put his hands on her shoulders and apologized, as he didn't mean to do that. However, she quickly pulled him into a hug and said, "Fuyuki! I love you!"

Fuyuki couldn't believe his ears. Knowing that she has thirteen stepbrothers, he couldn't possibly compete with the ones she was closest to. "But what about them?" he asked quietly, thinking she was really in love with her brothers.

"My brothers?" she wanted to get straight to the point. "I only love them as brothers! You're the only I love, Fuyuki!" As she confirmed her feelings, Fuyuki pulled himself away to face her. Then, they shared a long and passionate kiss.

However, a certain brother saw the entire thing happen. He saw what happened with the two last time, but he couldn't help but grin at his little sister's accomplishment.

"I'll support you, Imouto-chan..." he quietly said to Ema from a distance, even though she probably wouldn't hear him. Then, he heard a vibration in his pocket, picking it up, he looked at the name that was displayed on the screen.

Answering it, he quietly yelled, "Fuuto... what is it? I'm watching something going on!"

"You should at least treat your little brother more politely, Hikaru-nii!" Fuuto scowled. He really wanted to ask Hikaru something that would solve the answer to all his problems.

"So what is it..." Hikaru sighed.

"You seem to know all the secrets in our family, correct?"

"Yeah... so..."

"You know how nee-san is acting strangely?" Fuuto asked with a lot of urgency in his voice. At this point, Hikaru knew what he was going to ask of him. "What's going on with her? I'm worried about her!"

Since Hikaru actually had decency, he couldn't do something that would eventually hurt his little sister. However, since he noticed that Fuuto was worried about his older sister, he just had to tell him.

"Fuuto, what I'm going to tell you may be shocking, but you have to keep it a secret from the others!" he said in a serious tone, stressing that he wants it to be a secret. "Promise?"

"Promise!"

"Well, I'm watching her right now..." he told him, while Fuuto smirked as he listened to his older brother. "It looks as if a guy confessed to her! What's even more shocking was that she accepted it. In fact, she's kissing her new boyfriend as we speak!" Taking a deep breath, he continued to speak to Fuuto. "Now that I've told you, remember to..."

All of a sudden, Fuuto hung up. Sitting in Yusuke's room, the young idol couldn't believe his ears while Yusuke pestered him on what happened. He was never worried about his sister. That was all an act to get his older brother to fess up.

"So gullible..." he laughed, while Yusuke was starting to get even more curious.

Did Hikaru think he was actually going to keep it a secret? As one would expect, Fuuto was going to tell all of his brothers about this new development. Holding that smirk on his face, he walked out of his older brother's room and proceeded to spread the news. After all, in a family of thirteen brothers, anything goes...

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Me: So... *smiles sinisterly* ...now that Fuyuki and Ema are together, the fun begins...**

**Fuyuki: What do you mean by that? *steps back slowly***

**Me: I can't say... You'll just have to wait for what's to come...**

**Ema: Please don't hurt Fuyuki... *holds Fuyuki's hand tightly***

**Me: I can't promise that... Anyways, look forward to the next chapter and remember to vote on the poll, if you haven't already! Bye bye!**


	6. Sixth Chapter: Older Sister

**I Need Your Heart**

**Sixth Chapter: Older Sister**

While Ema was eating breakfast, she remembered what happened on the previous day. The day before, she was confessed to by her crush, Fuyuki Shiraishi. As she chewed on her food, she couldn't stop smiling. She never had a boyfriend before, so she was really excited about it.

However, she had to keep it a secret from her brothers. If they happen to find out, there are no words to describe what they could do. For example, Ema could visualize them threatening Fuyuki to break up with her. As she tried to get the thought off her head, her pet squirrel ran across the table and jumped onto her shoulder.

"Chi!" he squeaked. "Why do you look so giddy? Did something happen last night?"

"Well..." she blushed, still smiling ear to ear. "It's kind of embarrassing, but..." She still thought that it was all a dream until she got a good morning text from Fuyuki when she woke up.

"What is it?" Juli was beyond curious about what happened to his owner.

"...I'm dating someone right now!" As she laughed quietly, Juli cringed at the words she said.

"Are you crazy?" Juli scolded Ema, who just laughed at him. "Which wolf are you dating? I'll make sure to scratch their eyes out when I get to them!"

"It's not one of them..." she reassured her pet, who only got even more furious. "Remember the guy I went on a date with a while back?"

"What did you say?" Juli screamed at the top of his little squirrel lungs. "That's even worse! How can I look after you if..."

"Imouto-chan?"

After hearing one of her older brother's voices, she turned around to see who it was, only to find out it was her older brother, Ukyo. However, Ema noticed that he was acting strangely, as he didn't keep up much eye contact with her. After all, he did receive some startling news from one of the brothers.

"What is it, Ukyo-san?" She wanted to know what was going on with Ukyo, but she decided that she didn't want to talk to him about it at the moment.

"There's someone at the door for you," he said bluntly as he proceeded towards the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the brothers that woke up late.

"Okay..." she told her older brother as she walked towards the front door. Opening it slowly, she brightened up when she saw Fuyuki, causing her to walk over to him and kiss him on the cheek, making his cheeks turn pink. However, she noticed that beside him was another woman. Even though Ema didn't look at her with jealousy in her heart, she was still curious on who she was.

The young woman appeared to be older than Fuyuki, probably by ten years or something around those lines. In addition, she had the same face as him, along with the same hair and eye colour. Ema also noticed that she was wearing a black dress. After a bit of thinking, she started to get an idea on who she was.

"Excuse me," she politely asked the older woman. "Are you Fuyuki's older sister?"

As she listened to her question, she gave Ema a heart-warming smile. "Yes, I am! You must be Fuyuki's girlfriend, am I correct?" Ema smiled as soon as she finished her question.

"Aiko-nee!" Fuyuki blushed, while his older sister laughed at him.

"Yes," she bowed politely. Since she was meeting her boyfriend's older sister, she felt as if she had to make a good impression. "My name is Ema Hinata!" As she bowed, Aiko looked impressed.

"Fuyuki!" she smiled at her younger brother. "I see you've found a nice and mature woman! You certainly have a better taste in partners than Fuyuka!" While Ema listened, she started to get the impression that Aiko really disliked Iori.

Wanting to change the subject, she asked, "So what brings you here today?" She wanted to know if Aiko just wanted to see how she was or if there was some greater purpose about why she wanted to see her.

"Can you come with us for a while?" Aiko asked her politely. "There's something I want to show you. Is that fine?"

"Of course!" she told her boyfriend's older sister. "Let me tell my brothers, okay?"

As she turned around and walked towards the kitchen, she became startled when she found Iori eavesdropping on their conversation.

"Iori-san! What are you doing here?" she asked him, hoping he didn't see anything that would lead him to think that he was dating Fuyuka's younger brother.

"I was walking by and I was curious on what was going on..." he lied. In truth, ever since he heard the news from Fuuto, he wanted to know what guy she ended up dating.

"I see..." she said quietly. "Then, can you tell the others that I'll be away for a while? I'll be back before dinner." As he gave her a small nod, she walked back out the door and left with Aiko and Fuyuki.

"So I see that _he's_ her boyfriend..." he mumbled to himself as he walked back to tell the others. There was a pained look on his face, as a whole lot of bad memories started to resurface in his mind.

* * *

As Aiko drove the car, Ema and Fuyuki were having yet another lively conversation. Aiko was glad that Fuyuki managed to find a woman such as Ema. She wished, from the bottom of her heart, that Fuyuka had the same taste as Fuyuki, but she ended of dating a guy like Iori. If one couldn't tell already, Aiko hated Iori from the bottom of her heart. In fact, she even loathed him ever since he became Fuyuka's boyfriend.

As Ema was talking to Fuyuki, she noticed that they were many gravestones everywhere. She wanted to ask Aiko why they were going to a graveyard until she realized that it would probably be rude to ask her.

Then, as Aiko parked the car, Fuyuki grabbed Ema's hand and led her to the entrance of a cemetery. At this point, Ema figured out that they were going to visit Fuyuka. Hand in hand, Fuyuki took Ema to the deepest part of the cemetery until they reached the gravestone that had Fuyuka's name carefully engraved on the stone.

Looking at the gravestone, she noticed from the corner of her eye that Ai and Fuyuki had tears rolling down their face. Walking towards it, she began to feel bad for the poor girl. She died so young and so unexpectedly. After all, she was it by a car while waiting for her boyfriend to finish his high school entrance exam.

"Fuyuki," Aiko quietly asked her younger brother. "Can you get the flowers from the car?" As he went to get them, Aiko suddenly walked towards Ema and placed her hand on her shoulder.

"Ema-san, let me talk to you about something." Tears were cascading from Aiko's eyes as she stared at Fuyuka's name. While Ema looked at her, listening attentively, she didn't notice that tears were beginning to pool.

"I heard that Fuyuki told you about Fuyuka, correct?" As Ema nodded her head slowly, Aiko continued to speak. "You also happen to be Iori-san's stepsister, right?" Nodding her head again, she became nervous, thinking she wouldn't accept her.

"I didn't think Fuyuka would die so suddenly..." Aiko cried quietly with a pained look on her face. "I was so shocked after I heard the news... I didn't think _he _would have the nerve to do that..." As she looked down, she suddenly had a flashback of when she learned about Fuyuka's death.

_Aiko had just returned from her university classes. Knowing that her little sister took her high school entrance exam that day, she wanted to surprise her by baking a cake. Gripping the plastic bag full of ingredients, she wanted to get started before Fuyuka returned home._

_As she turned around the corner, she could see Fuyuki on the floor crying while Iori was comforting the poor boy. Tensing up, she dropped the bags and angrily walked in front of Iori, yelling at him._

"_Iori-san! What have you done to Fuyuki!" As the thirteen year old boy started sobbing uncontrollably, Iori stood up and grabbed her shoulder, causing her to angrily pull it back._

"_Don't touch me!" she screamed while Fuyuki tried to muster up the courage to tell her._

"_Nee-san... Fuyuka-nee is..." As Fuyuki was choking on his own sobs, he managed to continue. "...She's dead, Aiko-nee-san..."_

_As Aiko's eyes widened, she noticed Iori walking up to her. Anger building up inside of her, she slapped Iori across the face, while Fuyuki could only watch in horror._

"_I'm sorry, Aiko-nee..." Iori said, tears flowing rapidly._

_Yanking his arm, she walked him towards the door while Iori tried to reason with her. Opening the door, she threw Iori outside the house, hearing a thud as he fell on the ground._

"_I can't believe you!" she screamed at the already traumatized boy. "Why did you have to take her away from us? Why!"_

"_But..."_

"_I hate you!" she shrieked as she slammed the door shut. Then, she started to feel dizzy until she collapsed in front of the door._

"Aiko-nee?" Ema asked her quietly, bringing her back to Earth. "Why does it seem like you hold a grudge against Iori-san?" The anger building up inside of her, she wanted to scream loudly, but since Ema was a nice and polite woman in her eyes, she just couldn't vent her anger on her.

"He's the one who killed Fuyuka... he only became Fuyuka's girlfriend to take her away from us... He's the lowest of the low..." she said, trying to control her emotions. "I can't and I won't forgive him..." Even though Ema knew that Fuyuka was actually hit by a car, she couldn't bring herself to correct Aiko.

After a short pause, Aiko cleared her throat for what she was about to say. As Ema started paying attention, Aiko started to speak.

"Ema-san, you've got to promise me something..." Aiko begged her. "Please make sure that the same will never happen to Fuyuki... not just for me, but for Fuyuka..." As Aiko began to cry, Ema pulled her into a hug and comforted the older woman.

"I promise, Aiko-nee..." as Ema smiled faintly, so did Aiko. She was glad that there was someone who can comfort her like Ema did.

"I'm glad that Fuyuki found such a nice girl like you!" As Aiko finally managed to smile, they both looked up at the sky. As they stared, Ema could have sworn that she saw Fuyuka smiling down at her. Smiling back, they turned around and met with Fuyuki, who returned with a bouquet of white lilies in his hand.

* * *

As the car was going through the neighbourhood, Ema and Fuyuki were talking about what to do now that they were a couple. Then, as the car was beginning to park in front of the mansion, Ema gave Fuyuki a goodbye kiss before exiting the car.

"Fuyuki," Aiko laughed quietly. "Aren't you going to drop Ema off? You should be more of a gentleman..." As Fuyuki started to blush, Ema quietly laughed. As he took her hand, they began to walk towards the front entrance, unaware of what's to come.

As they walked through the gate, Ema suddenly became shocked when she noticed someone standing there. That person was none other than Tsubaki.

"Imouto-chan..." Tsubaki said in an annoyed tone. If it wasn't already enough to hear that Ema was dating someone, seeing her hold hands with that person was just rubbing salt on his wounds.

"Tsubaki-san..." Ema was shocked indeed. Tsubaki was one of the last people she would want to find out her secret. Eyes wide open; she stepped back slowly, inching away from the jealous brother.

Then, all of a sudden, he grabbed Ema's hand and led her inside. Unsure of what was going to happen, she tried to pull herself away so that she could be with Fuyuki, but Tsubaki was holding her wrist tightly. Worried about what was going to happen, Fuyuki ran toward Ema and tried to pull her away from Tsubaki's grasp.

After a while of struggling, Fuyuki and Ema ended up in the living room. As Ema looked around of the living room, she was both speechless and nervous. Why? Well, after hearing the news, the brothers ended up calling a family meeting behind her back.

Gathered in the room, she saw not only her brothers, but also her pet, her father and her step-mother. Wondering what she was going to say to them, she became terrified, since she had an idea of what they would do. Looking at everyone, she gripped Fuyuki's hand tightly, afraid for what was going to happen. Now that everyone knows her secret, how would everything go for her?

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Me: I can't believe the first book is halfway through! On another note, I see you've met my second OC, Aiko.**

**Aiko: Hello! *waves hello***

**Me: Anyways, over the weekend, I won't be able post any new chapters. However, as soon as the weekend is over, I'll continue to post new chapters.**

**Ukyo: Is there any news on the poll?**

**Me: Well, I'm just going to say that the race for the top 5 is quite tight. In fact, as of the moment, there are 2 people fighting for 5th place. Anyways, if you haven't already, I'd really appreciate it if you have your say in the poll, which is on my profile. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Bye bye!**


	7. Seventh Chapter: Coming Clean

**I Need Your Heart**

**Seventh Chapter: Coming Clean**

Ema gripped Fuyuki's hand tightly as she looked around the room nervously. Around her were all of her brothers, her father, Rintarou; her stepmother, Miwa, and even her pet squirrel; all of them looking at the couple. This was the last thing she wanted to happen. Why? Well, she knew that they loved her romantically, even though she only saw them as family. Now that they know, they would not only be hurt, but they may try to break them up.

Meanwhile, Fuyuki looked at them. He, too, knew that her brothers were in love with her and that they would be a big obstacle for them. As he scanned around the room, he saw Iori, Fuyuka's boyfriend. Avoiding eye contact, he turned to his potential in-laws. As they stared at him, he started to become intimidated.

"I see you brought your boyfriend, Imouto-chan..." Kaname said in a serious tone, causing Ema's eyes to widen in shock.

"How did you..."

"Sorry, Imouto-chan..." Hikaru apologized, wanting to explain what happened between him and Fuuto. "I told him to keep it a secret, but it seems that he hasn't fulfilled that promise..." As Ema turned away, she wondered what she was going to do.

As many of the brothers tried to avoid having eye contact with Fuyuki, Juli jumped from Louis' shoulder to Ema's, causing her to look at her overprotective pet squirrel. Hoping he wouldn't attack Fuyuki, she quietly whispered, "Juli... please behave..."

"Chi!" he told her, looking at the seemingly harmless guy that was holding her hand. From his perspective, he seemed like a nice guy. Seeing as there was nothing to worry about, he continued. "He seems harmless, so I guess I don't need to protect you from him." As he gave her a thumbs-up, she smiled at Juli.

Sighing in relief, she was glad that Fuyuki wouldn't get any scratches on his face. However, there were a lot of other people to worry about.

"Ema, are you really dating him?" her father talked to her sternly. It was a surprise to him when Ukyo informed the news to him. Of course, as her father, he wanted to make sure that he was at least a nice guy.

Nervously looking at everyone, she didn't know what to say. If she told her father the truth, she would hurt her brothers. On the other hand, if she lied, she would hurt her beloved boyfriend. After a deep breath, she finally thought of what to say.

"Yes, I am!" she admitted, while the brothers either had angered looks or pained faces. Hearing her say that was torture to them. They really wanted to be with Ema, but now, she already found someone that she liked.

Then, Rintarou and Miwa walked towards Fuyuki and politely asked Ema to leave them alone for a bit. As she walked away, she saw how they were questioning her boyfriend. Meanwhile, the brothers used this as a chance to confront her. As they all charged towards her, she began to get overwhelmed by all the questions.

"Onee-chan? Why?" Wataru held onto her shirt as tears were pooling in his eyes.

"Wataru..."

"I didn't think that you would find someone other than me..." Subaru looked down with a pained look on his face.

"But..."

"Nee-san..." he suddenly hugged her, while Ema tried to pull away from her little brother. "I thought I made it clear that you were mine and only mine... I guess I have no choice but to do _that_..." he whispered quietly in her ear, while the other brothers were still questioning her.

At this point, Ema was distressed. Desperately trying to break away from Fuuto's grasp, Fuyuki could notice that Ema was unhappy about this and politely excused himself from Rintarou and Miwa. Running towards the crowd, he pushed his way through and eventually pulled Fuuto away from Ema.

"Ema..." he told her in a serious voice. "Are you okay?" Noticing that she shook her head, he went in front of her and formed a bit of a barrier with his arms, separating the brothers from their sister.

"Can't you see the amount of stress you've given her?" Fuyuki yelled while some of the brothers started to listen to him. "How do you think she'd feel?"

As some of them started to feel ashamed for the stress they've caused, each of them either walked back to the couch or was pulled there by one of the others.

"I'm sorry..." Ukyo apologized on behalf of the brothers. It was unusual for him to do that, so he was really ashamed for confronting her.

"I guess I've seen enough..." Rintarou told Fuyuki in front of everyone. As he walked towards Fuyuki, he patted his head and smiled. "Thank you for protecting my daughter..." Then, taking Miwa's hand, they left the mansion and went back to the place where they lived.

Even though her father and step-mother were gone, it was far from over. As the brothers stood up again, Masaomi and Wataru walked towards Ema.

"Imouto-chan, we'd like to speak to your boyfriend alone, so may you please take Wataru to your room?" Masaomi asked. Smiling, she took Wataru by the hand and walked towards her boyfriend.

"I have to go, Fuyuki," Ema said to him as she kissed him on the cheek, before walking with Wataru back to her room. As all of the brothers saw her do that, tension rapidly started to build up in the room. Watching Ema's walking figure disappear, he began to shift his attention to his brothers.

As he looked around, he could see that they were upset by the fact that Ema's dating him. He knew that her brothers were close to her, so it wasn't much of a surprise to him.

"How dare you..." Fuuto grumbled as he started to charge towards Fuyuki as he clenched his fist. However, Ukyo managed to hold him back.

"Shiraishi-san, can we talk to you?" Ukyo politely asked him while Fuuto was still trying to come at him. "...in a civilized manner..." he glared at Fuuto as he tried to pull away from his grasp. After saying yes, he walked to the couch and sat down, while the brothers were starting to sit down.

Still glaring at the guy, they were, of course, displeased about what was going on. Fuyuki could notice this and wanted to make things better. Clearing his throat, he attempted to make the tension go away.

"Hello, I hope you can accept me..."

"Don't give us that bullcrap!" Tsubaki suddenly interrupted, earning glares from many of the brothers. It was clear that Tsubaki hated Fuyuki ever since he asked her on a date a while back. After Ukyo got him to shut up, he continued to talk.

As the conversation continued, Fuyuki could feel that the tension was starting to subside. Sighing in relief, he just sat there politely as her brothers began to talk. However, he noticed that there were a few brothers that refused to speak. Then, after a long chat, one of the brothers stood up as the others, including Fuyuki, looked at him.

"Fuyuki," Masaomi, spoke to Fuyuki, who wanted to know what was going on. "I want you to know that I think you're a good guy. That being said, I want you to take care of Imouto-chan..." Even though he seemed kind and understanding at the moment, on the inside, there was a lot of pain. He didn't want to let his little sister go, but now that she found someone else, he just had to move on.

"Masa-nii!" Yusuke yelled. Since he had a huge crush on Ema before they even became siblings, he was strongly against this. However, Masaomi walked away to his room before he could respond.

"Hey, you," Natsume stood up, making his way for the door. "You better take care of her or else," he said bluntly, albeit sternly, before walking out of the door. Even though he seemed cold on the outside, it really hurt him to hear that his beloved little sister had fallen in love with someone.

After Masaomi and Natsume left, some of the brothers started to leave one by one, either leaving the house or walking towards their rooms.

"As part of the 'Protect Chi-chan Club', I want you to know that I won't forgive you if you hurt Chi-chan..." Louis said quietly before leaving the house to take a walk. Even though Ema was dear to him, all he wanted was for her to be happy.

"I agree with him," He told him rather firmly. Ukyo tried to keep composed, even though it would take a long time to adjust to this. After all, he really liked her. "If Imouto-chan gets hurt, there'll be consequences." Then he headed towards the study to work.

"Y-yeah..." Subaru said quietly in agreement before heading to his room. As he walked away, tears were starting to pool in his eyes. After all, he was really in love with her.

"Aww..." Kaname pouted in a disappointed voice. "I can't believe that she's already found someone... I would have made a better boyfriend..." Even though he was faking disappointment as he said that, he seriously was sad that someone had beaten him. Walking away, he went down the elevator to go outside.

"Well this was quite fun!" Hikaru said to himself as he walked past Fuyuki. He genuinely cared for his little sister and wants her to be happy. That being said, he was also interested in how the brothers were going to fare now that they know her secret.

Then, as more brothers started to leave, there were only a few people left; namely Tsubaki, Azusa, Yusuke, Fuuto and Iori. They started to gather around Fuyuki, since they wanted to confront him about it.

"Fuyuki-san," Iori said in disbelief. "Is that really you?" As Fuyuki looked at Fuyuka's boyfriend, he smiled faintly.

"Of course, Iori-nii..."

"How dare you seduce her!" Tsubaki yelled at Fuyuki. Along with Fuuto, he was the angriest out of the brothers when it came to hearing the news.

Meanwhile, Azusa was trying to prevent him from hurting Fuyuki. Azusa was in love with Ema, but he just wants her to be happy. However, with Tsubaki and the others yelling at him, he had to stop it before it got worse.

"Don't worry," Fuuto reassured jokingly. "He's just a stupid pain in the ass. She'll break up with him in no time!" At this point, Fuyuki was starting to get really annoyed at them. Since it was rare for him to turn this way, nobody, not even Aiko, had seen him like this in a long time.

As the tension started to come back, Yusuke tried to inch away from what was going on. In fact, he was conflicted about this. On one hand, he wanted to wish her happiness. On the other hand, he wanted to be with Ema, since he loved her ever since he started high school.

Then, as the brothers were confronting him loudly, Fuyuki reached his breaking point. He couldn't take this anymore. It was just way to annoying for the guy who was composed and polite ninety-nine percent of the time. All of a sudden, in one swift motion, he pushed some of the brothers away, causing to be shocked at his sudden change in attitude.

"I can't take this anymore!" Fuyuki yelled angrily. "You all being stupid! Do you really think that yelling at me will do anything?" As he vented his anger on them, the brothers started to slowly step away from them, although a couple of them were amused at this.

"Ah... so you're showing your true colours," Fuuto smirked at the guy. On the outside, he seemed like a perfect boyfriend. After seeing this sudden outburst, everyone could see another side of him. However, Fuyuki just ignored their reactions and began to talk.

"You know what? I'm not handing her over to anyone!" Fuyuki yelled, clenching his fists in annoyance. Looking at Iori, he smirked a bit and said, "...not even you, Iori-nii-san..." After that, he turned his back at them and angrily walked away while the brothers stared at the guy in disbelief.

As he left the house, he took a few minutes to cool down. Even though it was quite embarrassing for him to show that side of him, he had to let them know that he wasn't going to lose against them. After all, now that the brothers know, this was going to turn ugly.

Walking towards his older sister, who was waiting for him outside, he thought to himself on how challenging this was going to be. After all, with her brothers in the picture, things have gotten a thousand times harder. Then, after stepping into the car, they drove away; unaware of what was to come...

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Me: Well that was quite hard to write... I hope I didn't make any of the characters too OOC in this chapter.**

**Fuyuki: Welcome back! *bows***

**Me: Anyways, now that we're in the second half of the first book, I'd like to thank you for everything! All your reviews, favourites and follows are encouraging me to continue with this! I didn't think I'd go this far! **

**Masaomi: Just to let you know, the author is trying to finish this story by the end of August, so if you haven't already, please vote on the poll before time runs out!**

**Me: I guess that's it! I hope you will continue to support my story! Bye bye!**


	8. Eighth Chapter: Christmas Eve

**Author's Note:**

**From this point until the end of "I Need Your Heart", it will be nothing but drama...**

* * *

**I Need Your Heart**

**Eighth Chapter: Christmas Eve**

A couple of months after the confrontation, not much changed when it came to the brothers' behaviour. Some of the brothers would still hit on her, but it was to a lesser extent than what it was. In fact, a few of them managed to move on after seeing how happy Ema was with Fuyuki.

Despite that, there were a few brothers that never gave up. They still wanted to be with her, even though Fuyuki was in the picture. Because of this, some of them grew to loathe Fuyuki. After all, they only see him as an obstacle.

Meanwhile, when it came to Ema, a lot of things happened. She still loved Fuyuki as much as she did then, if not more. Whenever she had free time, she would spend it with Fuyuki, whether it is on a date or studying in the library.

In fact, because she kept on hanging with Fuyuki, her personality changed. She was still kind-hearted and polite, but before, she was really innocent and submissive. After meeting Fuyuki, she became able to get her true feelings across. As a result, she can even yell at someone if they're bothering her.

However, as a result, she spent less time with her brothers and bit by bit, she grew to be distant from them. Of course, her brothers were bothered by this and wanted her to spend time with them too. Whenever she left to meet with Fuyuki, some of her brothers looked at him with jealousy. Unfortunately for them, they couldn't do anything about it.

As time passed by, the weather changed. Before they knew it, it was already winter. As a lot of people were preparing for Christmas festivities, so were a lot of couples. After all, a lot of couples go on dates during Christmas Eve. Ema and Fuyuki were no different. They were excited for the holiday, since it was their first time as a couple. However, unknown to them, this day would change their lives forever...

* * *

On one winter day, the snow began to fall on the streets of Kichijouji. Holding a package in his hand, he was going to deliver it to Ema. She was a gamer, after all. As he walked towards the mansion, he began to think about the day where he learned that Ema was dating someone. Even though he didn't show it, he was hurt that day. He really loved her, but then, Fuyuki had to come.

As he neared the Sunrise Residence, he noticed a conversation happening at the front door. Looking at them from behind the gate, he noticed that Ema and Fuyuki were having a conversation. Interested in what it was about, he listened to their conversation.

"Fuyuki, what brings you here?" Ema asked her boyfriend, who was standing outside the door. She was dressed in her pyjamas while Juli was sitting on her shoulder.

"Well, I wanted to personally ask you if you want to go somewhere on Christmas Eve," Fuyuki responded. Whenever it came to asking Ema on a date, he gradually became less nervous every time he asked. Now, it wasn't as awkward as the time where he asked her on their first date.

Looking at the couple, he looked at the couple coldly. Of course, he was jealous. Wanting to know more, he continued to eavesdrop. However, as he looked at them, his and Ema's eyes met. At this point, he quickly turned away, hoping she wouldn't come over and look. Unfortunately, she went over to the gate and saw Natsume, who was walking away.

"Natsume-san, what are you doing here?"

"I'm coming here to deliver some games," Natsume said bluntly. "They're going to be released later this year, but I thought that I'd lend you a copy." Seeing her brighten up, he felt happy inside.

Meanwhile, Fuyuki walked towards the front gate and saw Natsume handing over a package. Wondering what he was doing there, he walked towards them, both of them noticing him.

"Hello, Natsume-san," Fuyuki politely bowed, while Natsume looked at him coldly. "What brings you here?"

"He came here to deliver some games," Ema told him excitedly. "He works for a game development company, so he is able to get some games that haven't been released yet."

As they started to talk to each other, Natsume decided to leave that he should leave, since the couple started talking to each other. Turning away, Ema waved goodbye before he walked away from the house.

"_I wonder what will happen on Christmas Eve..." _he thought to himself as he walked away. He was concerned for his little sister, as he believed that it was her first time spending Christmas with a boy. _"Will something happen?"_

* * *

It was the afternoon of Christmas Eve. Being excited for their date, Ema looked through her closet to find the clothes to wear. Since it was her first Christmas date, she wanted to look her best. Rummaging through all her clothes, she wasn't satisfied with what was in her closet.

It took a while for her to find something though. In fact, it took her so long that when she looked at the clock, she had fifteen minutes left until she was supposed to meet Fuyuki. Panicking, she tried to fix her hair quickly before running out of her room.

In a hurry, she ran through the hallways while the brothers were staring at her. As they looked at her, they all thought the same thing... _"How beautiful..."_

Then, as she neared the front door, she felt someone grab her hand. Turning around, she saw Fuuto holding her wrist. Trying to pull it away, Tsubaki walked towards them.

"Where are you going?" Tsubaki asked sternly. Ema knew that he was one of the less-accepting brothers, so she tried to pull away from Fuuto so that she can get away.

"I'm going to meet with Fuyuki!" she said in a hurry after successfully yanking herself away from Fuuto. However, the persistent idol suddenly pulled her into an embrace.

"Don't go," he said rather seductively as Ema began to feel uncomfortable. "I want you to stay here... with me..." As he smirked, Ema pushed him away from her. Landing on the floor, Fuuto winced in pain.

"I'm going," she announced, annoyed by the fact that her own brothers were trying to keep her away from the one she loves. Closing the door, she made her way to the meeting place.

"Damn it!" Tsubaki screamed. Then, all of a sudden, he ran to his room to grab his car keys before returning to the front door. "Fuuto, grab everyone you can!"

"Where are we going?"

"We're going to follow them! I have to know what's going on!"

Following his brother's instructions, he looked around the house. After a couple of minutes, Fuuto managed to get Yusuke, Iori and Azusa to come with him.

"Tsubaki, where are we going?" Azusa asked his twin.

"We're going to follow Imouto-chan on her date!" he told them as he opened the door.

They then took them to the family car before anybody and object. As they drove off, they found Ema sitting in a park bench while Fuyuki came up to her. Taking her hand, they walked towards their destination. As Tsubaki started up the car, Fuuto was looking at them intently while the others were just doing their own thing.

Thirty minutes later, they saw the couple entering a restaurant. After parking the car, they all went out and began to follow them. When Ema and Fuyuki finally chose a table, they went to a table where they can see the couple and sat down.

Meanwhile, the couple started to have a lively conversation. Looking at the couple, they tried to make out what they said. So far, it seemed like an innocent little conversation, but they still had to listen.

"So how have your brothers been treating you?" Fuyuki asked his girlfriend. From what he saw, some of the brothers were crazy and overprotective.

"They've been good, I guess... Why do you ask?" Ema replied. She was glad that Fuyuki was looking out for her, but she knew that her brothers wouldn't do anything to hurt her.

At this point, the brothers were listening attentively. Of course, they wanted to know how this conversation will end. At the same time, Tsubaki started to drink the beer he ordered.

"It's just that I'm worried about you." Fuyuki told her with a concerned voice. "I'm having a bad feeling about some of the brothers, that's all..."

"Which ones?" Ema asked Fuyuki, wondering if they've been troubling him.

"The white haired guy..." Fuyuki answered, referring to Tsubaki. Since there were so many brothers, he had a hard time remembering their names.

Then, Tsubaki quickly stood up, slamming his hands on the table. He was annoyed at Fuyuki and wanted to knock some sense to him, but the others quickly pulled him down before they could notice.

"Tsubaki!" Azusa scolded his twin brother, who just started drinking to his heart's content.

After an hour or two, the brothers saw that the couple was leaving the table. That was when Azusa went to pay for what they ate while the others went to the car. After leaving the restaurant, he sat in the backseat while Tsubaki and Fuuto were sitting at the front.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ema and Fuyuki were walking in the parking lot. Even though the sky was dark at this point, there were a lot of couples roaming around.

"Thank you, Fuyuki," Ema said affectionately while holding his arm. "I had a lot of fun today!" As they walked away, Fuyuki suddenly stopped walking.

"Why did we stop, Fuyuki?"

"Wait here," he directed, smiling at his girlfriend. "I have a surprise for you..." As he ran back into the restaurant, Ema stood there blushing.

* * *

As he placed the key into the ignition, Tsubaki seemed a bit disoriented. Wondering what was going on with him, Yusuke tapped his older brother's shoulder roughly.

"Tsuba-nii, are you drunk?" Yusuke asked. Naturally, he was worried about this. After all, drinking and driving never ends well.

Tsubaki roughly turned around to face Yusuke. His face was as red as Yusuke's hair as he swayed back and forth. "Wwwwhat do youuuu sssshink?" he slurred, worrying the others.

"You can't drive like that!" Iori told his older brother. Like everyone else, he had a bad feeling about this.

"Sssshure, I cannnnnn!" Tsubaki interrupted his younger brother, causing much panic within the car. "Watchhhhhh meeeee!" he slurred as he slammed his foot into the pedal.

Of course, he crashed straight into a parked car. As its alarm started to ring, bystanders started to watch the scene.

"Look at what you've done!" Fuuto screamed as he grabbed hold of the steering wheel. Of course, as a fifteen year old, he didn't know how to operate a car. Surely, this couldn't get any worse. As the car swerved away from the damaged car, it began to go out of control.

"Watch out!" There was a loud, ear-piercing shriek, loud enough to hurt one's eardrums. Looking out the window, they wondered what was going on. Then, they all felt a sharp bump, followed by the sound of breaking bones and screams. As that happened, everyone inside the car began to panic.

Needless to say, things got worse...

* * *

A minute earlier, Ema was waiting patiently. As the snow continued to fall, she was looking at all the couples that were roaming the streets. Then, she heard a loud crash, followed by a loud alarm.

"What happened?" she asked to herself as she looked at what was going on. As many of the bystanders rushed towards the scene, Ema noticed that Fuyuki was waving his hand in the air while holding a bouquet of flowers in his other hand.

"Ema!" he yelled excitedly, running through the parking lot. Meanwhile, the car that caused that crash started swerving around, almost as if it was out of control.

"Fuyuki, watch out!" she shrieked as loud as she can. She could see the car going towards Fuyuki. In a desperate attempt to prevent him from being run over, she tried to run towards him so that she could pull him out of the way. Running as fast as she can, she managed to get Fuyuki's attention. However, he didn't notice the car at all, since he was more focused on his girlfriend.

Then, all of a sudden, the car hit Fuyuki and knocked him to the ground. If that wasn't enough, it also ran straight over the guy, right in front of Ema's eyes. As the sound of bones breaking became audible, there were a lot of screams coming from the bystanders.

Ema could only stand there in shock. She just looked at the car that just ran over her boyfriend. As tears began to pool in her eyes, she noticed that the car was, in fact, the family car. Then, as she looked at Fuyuki, she could see the blood ooze into the snow, tainting it crimson red.

After finally realizing what had happened, she screamed as loud as she could. Running towards Fuyuki, she held his hand as he looked at her with loving eyes.

"Ema..." Fuyuki said as he gasped loudly. As he tried his best to survive, he could feel himself drifting off into eternity. "Please... be happy..."

Holding his hand tightly, Ema began to sob uncontrollably. She then screamed at the bystanders to call 119, hoping that an ambulance would come quickly.

Then, she looked at her boyfriend, who was just lying under the family car, all broken and bloody. It looked like he was going to accept what may happen to him, as he was calmly living out what could be his last moments. However, Ema was distraught. After all, he may suffer the same fate that Fuyuka had gone through...

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Me: Okay... I know that people are going to hate me for doing this... *hides behind a wall*.**

**Hikaru: Things are starting to get really interesting *smirks***

**Me: Now that we're entering the final few chapters of the volume, a lot of stuff will happen.**

**Hikaru: That means that if you haven't already, vote of the poll on the author's profile. The clock is ticking!**

**Me: *whispers to Hikaru* I don't think you should say that after what happened in this chapter...**

**Hikaru: Whatever *smiles***

**Me: Just to let you know, the final chapters of this book will be dark and dramatic. That being said, I hope you would still look forward to what's going to happen. *bows* Bye bye!**


	9. Ninth Chapter: Tragedy

**I Need Your Heart**

**Ninth Chapter: Tragedy**

Ema was in distress as he held Fuyuki's hand. Why? Well, moments earlier, Fuyuki was run over by the family car. He was still alive, but he was still trying to hold on to life. As blood started staining the snow, Ema was sobbing uncontrollably.

She couldn't believe that this was happening. It felt like yesterday when she met Fuyuki that day. They shared a lot of happy memories together. However, with what was happening, she just wanted to cry and fall into the depths of despair.

Meanwhile, in the car, they were wondering what was going on. While Fuuto was panicking, Azusa, Yusuke and Iori were looking at the scene. As Iori looked around, he noticed someone's arm sticking out from under the car. At the same time, he also saw Ema's crying face as she held the man's body. At this point, he knew exactly what was going on.

Then, as he looked at the scene, he remembered what happened with Fuyuka, causing tears to pool in his eyes. He could feel what Ema was feeling at the moment. After all, she was experiencing the same feeling he had when Fuyuka was hit by a car.

All of a sudden, there were a lot of people knocking at the car. They were angry with what was going on there. In a panic, Fuuto yelled, "Let's get out of here!" Then, Tsubaki slammed his foot onto the pedal and drove away, running over Fuyuki yet again.

As Ema held Fuyuki's hand, she noticed that the family car was driving forward. Banging on the car, trying to get it to stop, she screamed as it drove over Fuyuki so that it could go forward. Seeing him cough a bit of blood, she started screaming at the car. Holding Fuyuki in her arms, she watched it clumsily drive out of the parking lot.

"Get back here!" she shrieked at the car while some of the bystanders were chasing after it. Watching the car go away, she finally had some sense of relief when the ambulance came to get them. As they pulled Fuyuki into the stretcher, Ema followed him into the ambulance, never letting go of his hand.

"I... love you..." Fuyuki tried to say to Ema as he gripped Ema's hand. While Ema continued to cry, they drove off towards the hospital.

* * *

Meanwhile, as they were clumsily driving on the streets of Kichijouji, they were yelling at Tsubaki to stop the car. Unfortunately, he wouldn't listen, probably because he was in his own little world.

At the same time, Yusuke, Azusa and Iori couldn't believe what they did. Of course, everyone was aware of what had happened, but that didn't stop Tsubaki from driving away. After all, he was under the influence of alcohol.

"Tsubaki, stop the car!" the other brothers practically begged their brother, who was still driving.

"Whyyyyyyyyyy?" Tsubaki slurred as he tried to stay on the lane.

"You're going to crash the car!" they all yelled at him. However, he ignored their pleas and continued to drive.

Then, all of a sudden, they felt the car swerve dramatically towards the side of the road. Hitting a tree, they all felt the impact of the crash. Of course, this was nothing compared to what they did earlier that day.

"What were you thinking?" Yusuke screamed at his older brother, who tried to get out of the car. While they were picking up the bits of glass, Fuuto was angry at what was going on.

"Are you stupid? You should know better than to drive drunk!" Fuuto yelled at his older brother, upset at this. "It's your fault all of this happened!"

"But you were the one who grabbed the steering wheel that time," Azusa pointed out, causing his younger brother to clench his fists in anger. "You are partly responsible for what that guy's going through!"

"What did you say?" Fuuto snapped. He didn't like being accused of something, even if he actually did it.

While Fuuto, Tsubaki and Azusa argued over what was going on, Iori quietly stepped out of the car. Noticing his older brother leave, Yusuke also went out of the car to talk to Iori.

"Iori-nii, where are you going?" Yusuke chased after Iori, who just turned around to look at Yusuke. It looked like he was about to cry.

"I'm going to the hospital!" Iori said to his younger brother as he continued to walk forward. Since he knew how it felt, he had to make sure that both Ema and Fuyuki are okay.

"Let me come with you!" Yusuke told him as he ran to his side. Even though he was in love with Ema and that he didn't like the fact of her having a boyfriend, he still couldn't stand the fact that this was going on.

Then, they turned around after hearing someone slam the car door. As Azusa walked towards them, he said, "I'll take you..." That was when they began their long walk towards the hospital.

* * *

As the doctors pushed the gurney through the hospitals, Ema was watching Fuyuki as he was being led to the operation room. Holding his hand, she could tell that he was starting to get weak. Crying her eyes out, she noticed that he was drifting on to sleep.

"Fuyuki!" she cried, worried that he was going to drift off. Meanwhile, she noticed him mouthing the words, "I love you." During the ambulance ride, he lost the energy to speak.

As they led him through the hallway, one of the nurses stopped Ema.

"Excuse me, you can't go past here," the nurse sympathetically told Ema, who just pulled her away from her grasp.

"Please! Let me say goodbye!" Ema begged the nurse. She was pretty sure that he wasn't going to survive, so she wanted to say her goodbyes before being led to the operation. As the doctors were leading the patient to the room, the nurse reluctantly nodded at Ema. After all, it didn't seem he wasn't going to survive anyways.

Running through the hallways, she caught up with the gurney. Pushing the doctor away, she hastily planted her lips onto hers. As they shared a passionate kiss, she could see Fuyuki's loving eyes. As tears began to form on both of their eyes, she broke the kiss and said, "I love you, Fuyuki! I'll always will!" Smiling at his girlfriend, he mouthed the words, "I love you, too!"

Then, while the doctors continued to bring him to the operation room, she tearfully waved goodbye as he went out of her sight. She really wished that he would survive, but if he didn't, at least she got to say goodbye.

Walking back to the waiting room, tears continued to fall out of her eyes at the thought of losing her beloved. As soon as she arrived, she sat down and began to cry her eyes out.

Suddenly, she heard someone bursting through the door. Turning around, she noticed that it was Aiko, Fuyuki's older sister. Wearing a dress, it was clear that she left from her date.

"Ema-san! I heard about what was going on!" Aiko rushed in as tears were running down her face. "What happened?" While she asked that, Ema's eyes were beginning to overflow for the nth time that day.

"I'm sorry!" she screamed as she cried into the palms of her hands. "I couldn't protect Fuyuki from that car! I'm sorry!" Burying her face in her hands, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay!" Aiko cried, comforting the poor girl. "It's not your fault." Even though she didn't want Fuyuki to suffer the same fate as Fuyuka, she couldn't bring herself to blame Ema like she did with Iori.

"But I promised that..."

"Don't blame yourself," she embraced her little brother's girlfriend, hoping that it would comfort her. "As I said, it's not your fault..." As Ema cried into her arms, Aiko, too, began to sob. Of course, she was afraid to lose her only brother.

As they cried with each other, they heard someone bursting through the hospital doors, checking to see who it was, Aiko clenched her fist at the sight, while Ema tried to muster up the courage the courage to see him.

"Imouto-chan!" Iori said to her, having a worried tone in his voice. "Are you alright?" Looking behind her brother, she noticed that Azusa and Yusuke were standing just outside the door.

Before she was able to answer, Aiko walked towards him and gave him an armour-piercing slap across the face, as he held his cheek with his hand, Aiko was trembling with anger and sadness.

"Why?" she screamed loudly while Ema tearfully tried to hold Aiko back. "Why did you have to do this again?" As she cried, Iori was taken aback.

"I didn't..." he tried to explain before being interrupted.

"Liar!" she cried as loud as she can. "First you take Fuyuka away from me, and now, you took Fuyuki too! You're a murderer! You're the lowest of the low!" As she shrieked, she began to break down. Crying loudly, she buried her face into her hands.

"But..."

"Go away!" she pushed him down to the ground, causing him to wince in pain a bit. "I hate you!" As she screamed at Iori, Ema tried to comfort Fuyuki's older sister. Even though she knew the pain Aiko was going through, she couldn't bear to see her and her brother fighting. Then, at that exact moment, a doctor came walking into the waiting room.

"May I speak to Aiko Shiraishi?" the doctor asked the people in the waiting room. As Aiko stepped forward, the others looked at what was going on. While the doctor was explaining what was happening, he had a sympathetic look on his face. Then, at that moment, Aiko went on her knees and broke down.

"Aiko-nee-san!" Ema ran towards Aiko, who was crying on the floor. Putting her hand on her shoulder, she hastily asked the doctor what was going on. As the doctor cleared his throat, he proceeded to tell her the news that would tear her world apart.

"I deeply regret to inform you that Fuyuki Shiraishi has died of exsanguination on 11:55PM."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Me: I warned you, I said that the chapters are going to be dark and dramatic. On another note, I'm sorry! *bows towards audience repeatedly*  
**

**Ema: Why did you have to do this? *cries a bit***

**Me: I had to do it for the sake of the story! I didn't think Fuyuki was going to be this popular! I'm sorry!**

**Yusuke: Masa-nii, what did it mean when it said that Fuyuki died of exsanguination?**

**Masaomi: It means that Fuyuki died of losing too much blood. (Me: I think that's right, but I'm not sure... I'm not a doctor after all... I just thought that it would sound professional.)**

**Iori: If that's the case, someone would have to be with her in her times of distress.**

**Azusa: You're right... *faces audience* If you haven't already, please vote on the poll so that Ema would have someone else to make her happy.**

**Me: By the way, there's one more thing I want to show you... *points at Fuyuki***

**Fuyuki: It has been fun being in the story! *smiles* I'm glad that I will be missed by the readers. Now if you excuse me, I have to meet with Fuyuka-nee-san... *disappears***

**Me: You know, I didn't think I would have such a hard time writing this! Anyways, I hope you will look forward to the next chapter! Bye bye!**


	10. Tenth Chapter: Aftermath

**I Need Your Heart**

**Tenth Chapter: Aftermath**

The Christmas bells were starting to ring loudly as the clock struck midnight. As people were cheering, it was a different story for the people in the hospital waiting room, namely Aiko and Ema. The reason why was because they were told that Fuyuki died of his injuries.

"You're kidding right," Ema said to the doctor in disbelief. She couldn't accept the fact that her boyfriend died because of being run over by the family car.

"He's not," Aiko sobbed as the doctor began to walk away from the scene. "Fuyuki really died." Trying to stand up, she embraced Ema, who was beginning to cry again.

"You're lying!" Ema said softly as she went to the first stage of grief. "Please tell me you're lying..." While Aiko began to sob, Ema could feel the tears rolling down her face when she noticed that Aiko was shaking her head.

"I'm not," she choked on her own tears. At that exact moment, Ema's world began to fall apart. As more tears began to flow out of her eyes, she buried her face into Aiko's shoulder.

Then, as they hugged each other, Aiko suddenly stood up. Wondering where she was going, she looked at Aiko who was walking towards Iori.

"This is your fault!" she screamed as loud as she possibly could. "I can't believe you would do this after taking Fuyuka away! Go to hell!" As she yelled at her brother, Ema stood up and tearfully tried to hold her back.

As Aiko was screaming at him, Iori turned back and walked towards Azusa and Yusuke, who were waiting outside the front door. While the two girls were grieving the death of Fuyuki, they didn't notice that it was already three in the morning.

"You should head back," Aiko told Ema as she tearfully nodded. Standing up, she walked out of the door as she wiped to remaining tears off her face. Then, as she looked at the night sky, she started to think about all the happy people who were celebrating Christmas. All of a sudden, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning around, she saw Iori standing with Azusa and Yusuke, who were still waiting outside.

"Are you okay?" Iori asked her as he looked at her. He could tell what she was feeling since the same thing happened to him years ago. As the others looked at her, they all wanted to comfort their stepsister. When tears started to come out of her eyes, she jumped towards her brothers and cried on her shoulders while they pulled her into a hug.

"Hinata-kun," Yusuke said as awkwardly pulled her into an embrace. He could tell that she was in need of someone to comfort her.

Crying into their shoulders, she couldn't believe that this was happening. Just a couple of hours ago, she was getting excited over her Christmas date, but now, she's crying over the fact that her boyfriend had died.

Then, as she stood up, she quickly used her sleeve to wipe the remaining tears away. Deciding to walk home, her brothers went with their sister. As the snow began to fall from the sky, Ema trudged through the streets. Then, she felt someone tap her shoulder. Turning around she saw Azusa standing with the brothers. In an instant, he pulled her into an embrace.

"I'm sorry for what Tsubaki and Fuuto did..." he apologized, referring to the fact that Tsubaki was drunk and Fuuto grabbed the steering wheel from Tsubaki's hands.

At that moment, Ema's eyes widened. She was aware of the fact that it was the family car that ran him over, but she didn't think that it was Tsubaki and Fuuto's fault. However, the more she thought about it, she noticed that they were the least accepting of all the brothers when it came to her and Fuyuki's relationship. As they walked towards the house, she began to think about it more and more.

* * *

After roughly an hour of walking, they finally reached the Asahina household. As the brothers led her through the door, they made their way to the living room, only to be surprised by all the people who were in there. She was shocked at all the people who were staring at her. Then, suddenly, Wataru stood up and ran towards his older sister.

"Onee-chan! Where were you?" Wataru cried as he hugged her tightly.

"Y-Yeah, where were you?" Subaru told her in a worried voice, even though it sounded rather awkward coming from him. "Y-You came home pretty late. Did something happen?"

As the brothers stared at the girl, she felt tears pool in her eyes. As they began to cascade down her face, they stood up and ran up to the crying girl.

"Fuyuki..." Ema choked on her sobs, not being able to continue the sentence. While the brothers were wondering what happened between her and Fuyuki, Iori suddenly interrupted.

"Fuyuki-san was run over a car," Iori informed the rest of the brothers, who mostly gasped at this. After all, this happened years ago with Iori and Fuyuka. "He died of his injuries..." As the brothers looked at her sympathetically, the hugged the poor girl.

"Imouto-chan," Masaomi said in a comforting voice. "If there's anyone you need to talk to, you can talk to me..." As Ema hugged her older brother, she cried in his arms.

"You can talk to me, too," Kaname interrupted as he went closer to his little sister. "If you want, I can also give you my 'gracious words'..." While the others were comforting their sister, they heard a voice coming from the kitchen table. Turning around, they saw Tsubaki, who was still partly drunk.

"Maybe it was a good thing that he died..." he said through his drunken state. This suddenly earned him a warning from his brothers while Ema could feel more tears trickle down her face. Even though he was drunk and couldn't think clearly, Ema ended up believing that he was glad that he died.

"Tsubaki," Azusa scolded instantly after hearing his brother's insensitive words. He knew that he was drunk, but seeing as he was less accepting of Ema and Fuyuki's relationship, he couldn't tell if he really felt that was.

As Ema began to cry more and more, she could see Fuuto walking towards her. Fuuto then took his hands and rested them on Ema's shoulders. While Ema was starting to become uncomfortable, he smirked at her.

"I agree with Tsubaki," he told her seductively as he put his face so close to hers that they could feel each others' breaths. He then held her chin with his hands, forcing them to face each other. "Besides, now that he's gone, you get to be mine, now..."

While Ema was looking at him with teary eyes, she could tell that he was more concerned about making her his than what was going on with her. Everyone else, too, knew that what he was saying was really insensitive.

"How could you..." Ema said softly, grabbing his younger brother's attention. As her heart was starting to beat rapidly, her blood was starting to boil too. She couldn't believe she heard those words from Fuuto. Then, in an instant, she took her hand and slapped him across the face, causing the other to wince in pain. As the scene was unfolding, all the brothers were shocked at her sudden change in attitude.

"I can't believe that the ones who killed him can still say that!" Ema screamed while the others, even Tsubaki and Fuuto, were shocked at what she said.

"What do you mean? They couldn't have killed him..." Ukyo asked. He was surprised indeed, since she said the two of his very own brothers were the ones that ran over Fuyuki. As Ema was sobbing uncontrollably, Azusa stepped forward and spoke for her.

"It's true," Azusa admitted while Tsubaki was shocked at his words. "Tsubaki was drunk when he drove the family car, while Fuuto ended up grabbing the steering wheels from him. That's what happened..." As Azusa stood there, Tsubaki stood up and walked towards his twin.

"How dare you say that!" Tsubaki yelled at his younger twin. As they began to argue,

"But he's telling the truth!" Yusuke interrupted. He couldn't stand the fact that Tsubaki was trying to deny the truth.

"He's right," Iori confirmed, as everyone started to stare at the two brothers. While Fuuto held the cheek that was slapped, Tsubaki stood up and walked towards Ema, who was trying to back away from him.

"Fine," he admitted as Ema continued to cry. "I admit that I ran him over, but I'm not going to apologize for what I did!" After saying those words, Ema was in shock.

"Why?" she asked her older brother, who looked at her with a serious face. As she was crying, she couldn't believe that he would actually say that. As he held her in his arms, Ema was slowly trying to get away.

"It's because I love you..." Tsubaki whispered into her ear, while her eyes began to widen. "If I apologize, it's like I'm admitting defeat..." Ema knew that his reasoning was absurd. Then, with all of her might, she pushed him to the ground.

"Tsubaki-san, you're being stupid!" she screamed at her older brother. "I hate you!" Then, she spun around and ran to her room, while her brothers looked at her run away.

Meanwhile, Tsubaki and Fuuto were sitting on the ground; looking at her in didn't think that she would be like this. Before, she used to be innocent and shy, but now, it doesn't seem like that was the case.

"She really changed..." Fuuto said to himself as the brothers began to walk away from the living room.

* * *

As she looked out the window, tears were rolling down her face. As she sat on her bed, leaning against the wall, she thought of everything that had happened.

It was only a year since she met Fuyuki for the first time. At that moment, she fell in love with him. When he confessed to her, she was really happy. In fact, she believed that they were going to stay together forever. Then, it all broke apart when Tsubaki and Fuuto ran over him.

Crying softly, she looked at her pet squirrel, who was trying to comfort the poor girl. He was really worried, since he had never seen Ema this sad in all the years he took care of her. Then, as she heard a knock on the door, she stood up and walked up to the door to open it.

Standing outside were Ukyo, Louis, Subaru and Wataru. As they entered, Ukyo pushed a cart filled with presents from the brothers into her room.

"What are you doing here?" Ema quietly asked her brothers as they went inside. Then, she felt Wataru's little arms hugging her. As she carried the young boy, he cried into her shoulders. "What's wrong, Wataru-chan?" Comforting the crying boy, she noticed that the tears wouldn't stop flowing from her eyes.

"I'm crying because you're sad!" Wataru told her as he wiped the tears off his face. "I don't like it when you're sad..."

As she smiled at the little boy, she suddenly felt the others pull her into a hug. While they were comforting the grieving girl, she began to cry into their arms.

"You know, in your time of distress, we're always here to comfort you," he said in a motherly tone as he continued to hug her.

"H-He's right," Subaru smiled as he comforted his younger stepsister. "No matter what happens, we'll always be here for you!" While he said that, Ema noticed that Louis was nodding his head in agreement as he patted her hair.

While her stepbrothers were comforting her, she began to smile again. Even though this was a really sad day for her, she was glad that she had many brothers that would comfort her. Then, after a few minutes, the brothers decided to go back so that she could have some time alone.

Watching her brothers close the door behind them, she held Juli in her lap. He was sleeping peacefully as he tried to hug her with his tiny arms. Smiling at her pet squirrel, she delicately petted him as she looked out of the window.

Looking outside, she could see the snow falling from the sky, delicately landing on the ground below. As she watched the snow, she began to feel better. Then, she began to feel herself drifting off to sleep. While her eyes were closing, she continued to look at the window until she finally fell asleep.

* * *

_Standing in the park where Fuyuki confessed to her, Ema looked around as the snow fell from the sky. In a daze, she wanted to know what was going on. One minute, she was sleeping and then the next minute, she was in the park._

_As she looked around, she saw a figure standing in front of her. Walking towards it, she began to cry tears of joy when she noticed that Fuyuki was standing there, smiling in front of her. Running towards the guy, she pulled him into an embrace and cried on his shoulders, while he was comforting the girl._

"_Fuyuki..." she cried. She was happy that she could see him again. Then, he placed his hand on her chin, making her face him. Wiping her tears away, he smiled._

"_Come with me..." he said as he smiled at his girlfriend as he began to fade away. While Ema was holding him tighter, he finally disappeared..._

* * *

Waking up from her dream, she was facing the window again. The sun didn't rise yet and the snow was continuing to fall. Thinking of what happened in the dream; tears were starting to fall from her eyes. Then, at that moment, she could hear Fuyuki say, "Come with me..."

Looking around the room, she was looking for Fuyuki, even though it was clear that he was dead. As she cried, she knew that she wanted to be with him. That's when she thought of what he told her in the dream.

"_Come with me..."_

At that moment, she knew what she was going to do. Grabbing a paper and a pen, she started writing a message on the paper. After a couple of minutes, she carefully placed the message into an envelope and went to Juli.

While he was on the bed, she was looking at his sleeping face. Stroking his fur, she quietly said, "I want you to be good, okay?" Taking one last look at the squirrel, she walked out of her room and into the hallway. Speeding past all the rooms, she finally made it to the front door.

Wiping a single tear from her eye, she walked out the door and closed it carefully. As she left Sunrise Residences, she thought of all the things that happened here. It was fun being there. She had a lot of memories with her brothers, from good to bad. However, with what was going on, she had something else to do.

"_I'll be with you soon... Fuyuki..."_

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Me: If you haven't already figured it out, I like to create copious amounts of drama when it comes to stories.**

**Hikaru: I think we've figured that out...**

**Me: Well, since there's two more books after this one, there will be more drama to come...**

**Ukyo: On another note, it seems that as of now, two people are fighting for the fifth spot. Remember, in the poll, only the top five will fight for her love in the last book and that it could change at any given moment.**

**Subaru: That means that you should cast your votes before the end of the story, which is two chapters away.**

**Me: So if you haven't already, the poll is on my profile. I really hope you will enjoy my story as it goes into the last chapter. Bye bye!**


	11. Eleventh Chapter: Worry

**I Need Your Heart**

**Eleventh Chapter: Worry**

_Lying down on the bed, Juli heard someone walk around the room. As his protective instincts turned on, he sat up and scanned the entire bedroom. That's when he spotted Ema making her way towards the door._

"_Chi," Juli asked his owner. "Where are you going?"_

_As he looked at her, he could see tears falling out of her eyes. After all, her boyfriend had died earlier that night. While she was looking at him, he could see that pained look in her eye._

"_Goodbye, Juli..."_

"_Chi! Where are you going!" Juli screamed at his owner, who quietly closed the door behind her. Running towards that door, he tried to chase after his owner. "Chi! Chi!"_

* * *

All of a sudden, Juli woke up from his dream. Looking at the window, he could see the sun as it rose. Then, looking for his owner, he realized that she wasn't there. As he looked around the room, he noticed that he was no longer in her room. Looking around a bit more, he noticed that Louis was sleeping soundly beside him.

"Louis-san, wake up!" he squeaked at the other person that could understand him. As he tried to shake him, Louis' eyes started to open.

"Juli," Louis yawned, standing up to fix his hair. "What is it?"

That was when Juli dashed towards the door while Louis followed the squirrel as he ran towards Ema's room. As he sprinted, he noticed that someone was standing outside the door. Running a bit closer, he realized that it was Iori, who was knocking on her door.

While Juli began to squeak at him, Louis picked him up and walked slowly towards Iori, who also noticed the two come towards him.

"What are you doing here?" Louis yawned while he tried to keep Juli from attacking him.

"I wanted to talk to her about what happened yesterday," Iori replied while Louis went towards the doorknob. Giving it a quick twist, they were all surprised when the door opened, since it was usually locked.

Walking inside the room, they noticed that everything was a mess. After all, Ema wasn't in the best mood, since Fuyuki died because of Tsubaki and Fuuto. Then, as they looked around, Juli found an envelope on her bed, running towards it, the other two follow.

"What's this?" Iori picked it up from Juli's tiny hands. Opening it, he took out a letter and the room key. As he opened up the letter, he started to read the first line. Then, at that exact moment, his eyes widened.

"What happened?" Louis asked his younger, who looked at the letter in shock. "What does it say?"

"Louis-nii!" Iori screamed suddenly, shocking his older brother. "Call Natsume-nii and Hikaru-nii! Now!" As he said that, both Louis and Juli were able to tell that there was a sense of urgency in his voice. Thinking it was really important, he suddenly took out his cell phone to call both of them while Iori ran outside the room to wake up the others.

* * *

As Louis opened the door for two of his older brothers, Iori finally managed to get every other brother into the living room. While everyone was trying to stay awake, Natsume and Hikaru took a seat while Iori held the letter in his hand.

"Why did you call us here?" Yusuke complained, feeling really tired at the moment. As the others nodded in agreement, Louis stood up and went to Iori, who had tears running down his face. While his brothers went to see what was going on, Louis snatched the letter from his hand and read it. After doing so, he, too, also began to cry.

"What's going on?" Wataru innocently asked his older brothers. Noticing what was going on, he became even more curious. That was when Masaomi took the letter from Louis.

"Masaomi-nii," Iori told his older brother, who looked at him with concern. "Just read it out loud." As Masaomi unfolded the paper, he began to read the words that were hastily written on the letter.

"_If you're reading this, I'm probably dead by now..."_ he read as the brothers looked at him with both shock and pain. As sadness began to fill the room, some of the brothers began to cry a bit.

"You're kidding, right?" Yusuke screamed, while Azusa tried to hold him back. "She couldn't have written that!"

While Masaomi looked at his younger brother, he had a hard time holding back the tears that were pooling in his eyes. As a result, Yusuke ran up to Masaomi and snatched the letter from his hand, while many of the others gathered around him.

* * *

"_If you're reading this, I'm probably dead by now..._

_I know that you may be wondering why. Well, the pain of losing Fuyuki was too much for me to handle. When I first met him, I fell in love with him at first sight. Then, when we started dating, it seemed as if we were going to be together forever. However, on that day, he was run over by the family car._

_I didn't think that would happen. I couldn't believe that Fuyuki was really dead. I thought that it was just a nightmare and that when I woke up, everything will be alright. Then, as time passed, I was sure that Fuyuki was dead and that he was never coming back..._

_As I was thinking, I realized that I wouldn't be happy without him. Sure, I have you guys, but still, I miss Fuyuki so much. I would do anything to be with him again. That was why I decided to do this..._

_I'm sorry for being such a weak person... I know that this was a selfish decision and that I would hurt a lot of people by doing this, but the pain was too much for me..._

_Papa, I'm sorry for doing this... I'm such a bad daughter for deciding to do this, but, as I said before, I'm in so much pain. I also want to say that I'm glad to have you as my father, even though you adopted me. Thank you for everything, papa... _

_Miwa-san, I'm sorry for doing this... I know that you always wanted a daughter. I feel as if I failed you, and I'm sorry! I hope you can move on without me._

_Juli, I'm sorry... Thank you for protecting me ever since I was born. You've taken care of me whenever I felt lonely or whenever I was really sick. I really appreciate all that and I hope that you would be able to live on without me._

_Masaomi-san, Ukyo-san and all my other older brothers, thank you for looking after me all these years. I know that I wasn't much, but I still want to thank you for looking out for me. I know that I would make you sad by doing this, but I hope you will be able to move on..._

_Yusuke-kun, thank you for being my friend and brother. You've been so good to me ever since we were classmates. I was even more surprised when we ended up becoming siblings. I hope that you would be able to be happy when I'm gone._

_Wataru-chan, I'm sorry for being such a weak older sister. I want to wish you good luck as you grow older and I hope that you end up being a responsible, young man in the future. I hope that you will be able to be the best you can be. Please do it for me..._

_Then, there's Tsubaki-san and Fuuto-kun. Even though I was angry for what you did, I still wanted to say goodbye to you. Even though I can't bring myself to forgive you, I still wish you happiness._

_So, I guess that I've made you cry and I am deeply sorry for doing this. I just hope that you would be able to forget about me and live on. Thank you for everything._

_Ema Hinata..."_

* * *

At this point, every single brother, even Tsubaki and Fuuto, were brought to tears. They couldn't believe that this was written by her. Maybe she would walk through the door and tell everyone that she's alright. However, the more they waited, the more they began to realize that she might've went through with this.

As they sat on the couch, Wataru cried into Masaomi's shoulders as the latter was hugging and comforting his little brother. They didn't think that she would kill herself and they were sad about all of this.

"Ma-kun!" Wataru cried to his big brother. "Please tell me that those are all lies!" When Masaomi hesitantly shook his head, Wataru began to sob uncontrollably, while Masaomi was holding onto Wataru as tears began to fall from his own eyes.

Meanwhile, Ukyo had a dejected look on his face as he looked at the letter that was on the floor. He knew that he wasn't there for Ema as much as he'd like. That was his only regret. As tears fell from his eyes, he noticed that Hikaru also had a pained look on his face. Walking over to his younger brother, he comforted him.

At the same time, Iori was crying his eyes out. This was the second time someone he deeply cared for had died. The first time was with Fuyuka. That time, he didn't take it well, but it felt as if he was taking it harder. As he tried to wipe the tears away, Kaname walked over to his younger brother and pulled him into a hug. He, too, was sad that he lost his precious little sister. Even though he always was flirting with her, he deeply cared for her. As they comforted each other, they were glad that they were able to stop fighting.

As the others were grieving, Subaru was trying to hold back his tears. Like everyone else, he greatly missed Ema. He remembered all the things that happened between them, including those awkward moments. While his eyes were getting watery, he felt someone's hands on his shouler. Turning around, he noticed Natsume as he had a downcast face. Even though he wasn't physically crying, it still hurt him that this happened.

While that was happening, Juli was deeply saddened by this. He felt as though he failed to protect her by letting this happen. As he started to tear up, he noticed that Louis was trying to comfort the squirrel. He, too, felt as if he failed his sister. Both of them made up the "Protect Chi-chan Club" and yet this happened. When this happened, they were deeply hurt and wondered what would happen now that she died.

While that was going on, Fuuto, was starting to feel sad. Even though he usually was a jerk, he still had a heart. When he heard the news, he felt like punching the one who was reading the letter, believing that it was all lies. However, as he read the letter, he realized that this was all true. As he started to feel hurt, Yusuke went up to him. Since he was in love with Ema for a long time, he was bawling his eyes out. That was when they began to cry with each other. Even though they were usually fighting, because of what was going on, they had to comfort each other.

While the others were crying their eyes out, Tsubaki and Azusa stayed in each other's arms. Even though Azusa couldn't believe what Tsubaki did, he couldn't bring himself to hate him. Throughout the times, they were fighting over Ema, causing a tense relationship between the twins. However, as this was going on, they had to comfort each other and stop fighting. After all, it would hurt Ema if all they did was quarrel. Hugging each other, Tsubaki was crying loudly while Azusa had a lot of tears flowing out of his watery eyes.

This was, by far, the Asahina family's saddest Christmas. Of course, it was because their beloved sister decided to give up her life. While they were all grieving the loss of their love, they felt as if something else happened. Normally, the siblings will quarrel over her, but now, they were just comforting each other as they went through this hard time. As they began to accept the fact that this happened, all they hoped was that Ema would be able to watch over them from above.

* * *

As the sun shined over the snow, Aiko was taking a walk in the park. Since her only brother died, she had to do something that would calm herself down. After all, she was the only remaining sibling. Feeling some tears form in her eyes, she looked at the river that was continuing to flow.

As it was running through the park, she started to think of Ema. She was aware that this was the place where Fuyuki confessed to Ema, so she wondered how she felt now that Fuyuki had died. Wiping a single tear from her eyes, she suddenly noticed something by the edge of the river.

Normally, she wouldn't care at all, thinking it was just a random pile of snow. However, she felt as if she had to see what it was. Cautiously taking a step closer, she soon began to run when she realized that it was a body.

"Are you okay?" she asked the body as she started wiping the snow off of it. As the removed all the snow, her eyes widened when she realized whose body it was.

"Ema-san?" She said in shock as she tried to check if she was still alive. Checking her pulse, she sighed in relief when she found out that her heart was still beating. Looking at the unconscious girl, she noticed that her hair was soaking wet.

"_Don't tell me she tried to drown herself in the river..."_ she thought as she took the body and carried her on her back. Walking through the streets, she made her way towards her house so that she could take care of the girl.

A lot had happened these past few days. First, Fuyuki died after being run over by a car and then, Ema tried to kill herself by jumping into a freezing river. While Aiko was starting to think more about what happened, she also began to wonder about what will happen to both her and Ema in the future.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Me: Wow! I didn't think I would make it this far! I only have one more chapter to go until this volume is finished!**

**Brothers: Congratulations!**

**Me: That means that there isn't much time left to vote on the poll. As I said, when the next chapter is posted, the poll will close. The poll is on my profile page.**

**Hikaru: I wonder what is going to happen in the next volume...**

**Me: There's a lot in store... Anyways, thank you for sticking with me this far and I hope you will look forward to the conclusion of the first part. Bye bye!**


	12. Final Chapter: Future

**Hello, everyone! Here is the last chapter of "I Need Your Heart". This doesn't mean that this is finished, as there are two more volumes left to write! That being said, I hope you enjoy the end of this volume!**

* * *

**I Need Your Heart**

**Final Chapter: Future**

Slowly opening her eyes, Ema was in a daze of what had happened. All she remembered doing was walking towards the river in the park so that she could jump in. As she took note of her surroundings, she realized that she was in Fuyuki's room.

Looking around, she noticed that there were a lot of books piled neatly on the floor, a bunch of CDs scattered around her desk as well as a collection of pictures right by his bedside table. Carefully picking up a picture frame, she felt a teardrop escape her eye as it fell onto the picture.

It was a picture of her and Fuyuki during their trip to the amusement park. At the moment, Ema was blushing and smiling at the same time, while Fuyuki was wrapping his arm around her shoulder as he grinned. Seeing that picture caused her to smile faintly, bringing up one of the first good memories in a while.

Then, she turned towards the door as someone walked in. Wearing an apron, she quietly walked over and kneeled beside the bed. As soon as Ema got out of her daze, she noticed that Aiko was there. When she looked at her, she noticed that she was having an angry face as tears flowed out of her eyes.

"Aiko-nee-san?" Ema asked Fuyuki's older sister, worried about her. "What's wrong?"

While Aiko was grumbling, she clenched her fists in anger, while Ema could only watch worriedly. As Aiko's blood started to boil, she then began to lose it.

"Are you stupid?" Aiko screamed while Ema flinched at her sudden reaction. "Why did you try to do that?"

Aiko was fuming with anger while Ema only looked down, guilt written all over her face. She knew exactly what Aiko was referring to. As Aiko angrily glared at Ema, she tried to smile, hoping to simply play it off.

"I see what you are referring to..." Ema smiled faintly as she told her quietly, while Aiko could only grumble in frustration. Reaching her breaking point, she got her hand and slapped her across the cheek in one swift motion, causing the girl to wince in pain.

"Idiot!" she screamed at Ema, while she flinched at those words. "Why did you try to kill yourself?" While Aiko was infuriated because of this, Ema couldn't bring herself to face her directly.

After a short pause, Ema took a deep breath before explaining herself. "It's because I want to be with Fuyuki..." As she looked down at the blanket, Aiko was starting to get angry again. "After all, he wants me to be with him, too..." At this point, Aiko was furious. She didn't know that Ema would be like this.

"That's just stupid!" Aiko screamed at the girl, strongly disagreeing with her. While Ema just looked at her, tears pooling in her eyes, Aiko continued to scold the poor girl. "He would never do that!"

"But I saw him..." Ema muttered quietly, grabbing Aiko's attention. "He told me to come with him..." As Ema began to cry, Aiko quickly took her hand and slapped her for the second time that day. As Ema placed her hand on her cheek, Aiko began to scream again.

"You know what? You've got to be the weakest person I know!" Aiko shrieked as loud as she could as Ema began to cry even more. "Don't you know that there are a lot of people that care about you? If you can't realize that, then get out of my house!" Suddenly, she stood up and ran out the door, slamming it as hard as she could.

That was when an image of her brothers appeared in her mind. In her mind, she could see them smiling at her, wishing her the best. Whenever she felt like crying, they would come over to comfort her. Whenever she got hurt, they would help her out. That was when she realized that they would always be by her side no matter what.

Even so, she was still sad about Fuyuki's death. After all, she was deeply in love with him. In fact, she strongly believed that she would love him forever. However, as she thought about it more, the more it dawned on her that he was dead and that he was never coming back.

Then, as she began to slowly accept the truth, she started to realize that she was really in the wrong.

* * *

After finally deciding to go out of the bed, she stood up and quietly walked towards the bedroom door. Exiting the room, she slowly walked through the hallways. As soon as she saw Aiko, she stopped and sat on the chair next to her.

Aiko was eating her breakfast when she noticed that Ema took a seat. Placing her chopsticks down, she looked at Ema, wondering what she was doing there.

"I'm sorry," Ema apologized. "You were right..." As she slightly bowed, Aiko couldn't bring herself to stay angry at the poor girl.

"It's okay," Aiko reassured as she placed her arm on the girl. "I should be the one apologizing... I over-reacted back there."

Smiling at each other, they started to eat breakfast. As they talked about a bunch of stuff, Ema started to brighten up. Since she was starting to accept what happened, she began to dwell less on Fuyuki's death.

"Ema-san, so what are you going to do about your brothers?" Aiko asked her as Ema began to look down. "Are you going to go back?"

While she asked that, Ema did some thinking. To tell the truth, she didn't really want to go back. If she went back, things would back to the way things were. The brothers would continue fighting over her, since Fuyuki was out of the picture. Not wanting that to happen, she quickly shook her head, causing Aiko to look at her questioningly.

"I don't want to cause any more trouble to them..." Ema explained while Aiko was listening to her every word. "If I go back, things would go back to the way things were before I fell in love with Fuyuki." As Aiko agreed with her, she suddenly brightened up as an idea popped into her head.

"If you don't want to stay with them, how about you get a new start?" Aiko suggested, while Ema brightened up.

"How?" Ema suddenly said excitedly. She really liked the idea of having starting fresh, since she would be able to leave everything behind her.

"Well, in the near future, I'm going to move to America to get some more training to become a pediatrician," she explained, while Ema listened attentively. "I would really like it if you come with me," Aiko told her.

At that moment, Ema remembered what happened at the karaoke box on her first date. While she was singing, Fuyuki had brought up his dream to become an idol and that he was planning to enter a performing arts university there. He also mentioned that he wanted her to come with him to study there. As she began to look back at that moment, she suddenly had an idea.

"I'll come with you!" Ema said rather excitedly while Aiko was surprised at her sudden enthusiasm.

"Really? Why?"

As Ema heard Aiko said that, she smiled whole-heartedly. "I-I want to live Fuyuki's dream for him!" While Aiko was surprised at her sudden decision, Ema only smiled, wondering what would happen if Fuyuki was there when she said that.

Walking away from the dining table, she passed by a picture of Fuyuki. Staring at his smiling face, she imagined that he was wishing her good luck. Then, grabbing the picture, she gave "him" a nice peck on the cheek before walking away.

* * *

It has been around half a year since Fuyuki died. Ema had managed to move on from his death, although she still insisted on starting a new life. Of course, Aiko couldn't object, as she wanted her to come with her. That meant that she willingly did everything that would allow her to go, such as getting her a passport. When that was done, since Ema was going to a university in America, they decided to go in the summer, as the school year started after summer vacation.

Sitting in the plane that would take them there, Ema began to think of what had happened during the past year, while the engine was starting to rumble.

Just around a year and a half ago, she met Fuyuki by chance when she was walking home. She could never imagine that the moment they met would change her life forever. Before, her brothers always fought over her, but ever since Fuyuki came into the picture, things became more complicated, especially because they were in love with each other.

Even now, she was still in love with him. Even though he was dead, the feelings never left. In fact, when Fuyuki died, she just couldn't bring herself to be with her brothers. After all, she still couldn't manage to forgive Tsubaki and Fuuto for running over Fuyuki that day.

Despite that, she did feel sorry for having to leave them. She was aware that they still believed she was dead. Because of that, she felt really bad for hurting them, especially since they had such a close relationship ever since their parents remarried. However, even though she felt bad, she just wanted to have a new beginning.

As the plane began to take off, Aiko noticed that Ema started to cry.

"Why are you crying?" Aiko asked Ema, who managed to smile at her.

"Sorry," she reassured, wiping her tears away. "I just didn't think that I would actually have a new start!" As she smiled at her, Aiko pulled her into a quick hug before the plane started to go into the air.

While Ema looked out of the window, she wondered on how her new life was going to be like. Would he have a really good time or would she regret it? As she thought of the possibilities, she saw something that caught her eye.

As the plane was flying over the city, she managed to catch a glimpse of the Sunrise Residence, the place where she used to live. Staring at it more and more, she noticed that her brothers were all standing on the balcony, looking at the sky. From what she saw, it looked like they were having a good time and that they weren't fighting anymore. Smiling tearfully, she only managed to mutter a single word...

"Goodbye..."

Then, while the plane was flying further and further away from Kichijouji, she waved goodbye to her brothers before turning away from the window. Wiping her tears away, she wondered what her life was going to be like from now on...

**END OF PART ONE**

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Hello, everyone! As you can see, this is the final chapter of "I Need Your Heart"! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, as well as this story!**

**Before I continue, I would like to thank all of the readers for supporting me! All the reviews, follows and favourites gave me inspiration! Without you, I wouldn't have made it this far! Thank you very much!**

**On another note, the poll is now closed and is now removed from my profile. Written below are the results.**

1st: Natsume with 22 votes

2nd: Yusuke with 19 votes

3rd: Louis with 17 votes

4th: Subaru and Iori with 15 votes each

6th: Tsubaki with 14 votes

7th: Azusa with 13 votes

8th: Masaomi with 10 votes

9th: Fuuto with 9 votes

10th: Ukyo, Kaname and Hikaru with 7 votes each

13th: Wataru with 6 votes

**Now that the first volume is done, let me tell you a bit of the next book. The next book of the series will be called "I Need Your Smile". This volume will involve a seven year time skip and will be about the brothers trying to find Ema as she lives out her new life as an idol. At this point, some of them will fall in love with her again. Who will Ema choose now?**

**Will it be Natsume, the one who looks cold on the outside, but deeply loves and cares for her on the inside?**

**How about Yusuke, who loved her ever since high school and hasn't stopped ever since?**

**Or will it be Louis, the relaxed hairdresser who always wants to look out for his sister?**

**There's also Subaru, the awkward basketball player who loved Ema dearly when she became his sister!**

**But we can't forget about Iori. He loved Fuyuki's older sister before she died, but now, he is deeply in love with Ema.**

**Who will it be?**

**Before I finish, I would like to thank everyone again for reading and following this story. I really hope that you will look forward to "I Need Your Smile"! However, I wouldn't be able to update as frequently as school is around the corner. Still, I will try to update quickly! Anyways, that's pretty much it. Thanks for all the support!**

**Bye bye!**


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